Surviving Fire
by shorttail1
Summary: a vote was taken after the rebellion on whether to hold another games but this time, with capitol children. unfortunately the odds were not in capitol's favor and now their children must fight for their lives in the 76th Hunger Games!
1. Chapter 1

"Wake up!" My eyes shot open at the sound of my sister's voice yelling in my ear. "Get up!" She yelled again and jumped onto the bed, her knees hit me square in the chest and the air was knocked out of me.

"What do you want?" I managed to get out after the air started to fill my lungs again.

"Wake up!" she repeated.

"I get that but why?" I moaned and pushed her off me. I rubbed my sore ribs and rolled on my side. That girl had boney knees!

"I want to play pretend! Cleo told me to get you," She said then started poking my cheek. I growled then forced myself to sit up, "Give me five minutes, okay?" I asked and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. A huge smile spread across her face and she skipped out of my room.

My little sister, Lydia, was only five years old and loved to play pretend. She loved it so much that she forced the rest of us to play us well. My little brother Cleo, who was seven and didn't care much for fairies and rainbows, would get really into it only if there was fighting involved.

Ajax was Cleo's best friend, they were the same age and always found a way to turn Lydia's princess games into die hard thrillers. Neo and I, Ajax's' older brother who was only two months older than me, only played to make the younger kids happy but I have to admit at times it was pretty fun.

My name is Aradhana Pierce but everyone calls me Hana, I'm sixteen and live in Panem. Panem is made up of twelve districts and the Capitol; I live in Capitol with my family. We live in a good sized house, not to big but not too small. It doubles as our family business; the upstairs works as a shop.

My mother, who is a wonderful seamstress, sells handmade jewelry and many beautiful clothing items. My father sells anything he thinks look interesting from the catalog. The shelves were a mess of random knick knacks but they brought in money. To be honest, I think we got most of our income from mom's dresses. She even taught me a thing or two about sewing. The basement was where our bedrooms, kitchen, and living room were located.

Living in Capitol was interesting; the people for one thing were…different. They sure did have their own style, everything from dying their skin to getting implants. It all seemed a little too out there for my tastes but that didn't mean I didn't have work done. For my tenth birthday my parents let me get anything done on me that I wanted.

Instead of dying my skin rainbow and changing up my hair to the latest do, I got a tattoo. It was a delicate design of swirls that started from my left middle finger and extended up my arm to the shoulder, there was also the same design that traced the corner of my right eye. It was black with silver and went nicely with my tan skin. I liked it, I stood out but not as much as some people.

I combed through my reddish brown hair and made three small braids on one side then pinned them to the other so it looked almost like a head band. I quickly got dressed in a clean top with a dark brown tool skirt that I only wore when playing pretend because Lydia wanted me too. I pulled on a pair of old boots then raced upstairs.

My parents were already up, Dad was fusing with the inventory and Mom was sitting at the counter sewing what looked like a coat. I noticed the TV in the corner was turned on and the 74th annual Hunger Games were playing. The Hunger Games were something that everyone in Capitol seemed to get excited over. It happened once a year and was broadcasted everywhere, it was also a requirement to watch it but I didn't care much for rules. The Hunger Games were started as a punishment to the districts after district 13 tried to rebel against Capitol and now everyone else had to suffer from it. Another reason why I agreed to play pretend with the younger kids, it kept them distracted from the TV and it gave me an excuse not to watch.

Sure I had seen bits and pieces of each one, at times it got intense and I couldn't take my eyes away but others it just seemed sad. I didn't know any of these kids but I pitied them. What would it be like to loose Cleo or Lydia to the games? To know that I might never see them again and their death was broadcast as entertainment.

What would I do if I were in the games? Would I survive? I doubted I would last five minutes, I barely know how to fight, how to shoot arrows or swing a real sword. What would it be like to die? I didn't like to think about it and I was grateful I lived in Capitol so I didn't have to live that way. We never ran low on food, sickness wasn't a big deal, I had nice clothes, and I never had to worry about who might be the next to enter the games. Despite the fact that this was cruel, I never questioned the Capitol, I learned it's best not too.

"Good morning darling," Mom looked up and smiled at me. She had one of those smiles that could brighten anyone's day, her hair was the same color as mine but it was cut short, I guess what you'd call a pixie cut, and she had purple eyeliner that seemed to make her bright eyes pop.

"Morning Mom," I smiled back then glanced at the TV. This was the only games I ever got really interested in. Mostly because of the star crossed couple, Katniss and Peeta that everyone was talking about. It really was a tragic love story.

"Going to play pretend?" Dad chuckled at my skirt. I just smiled and stuck my nose in the air, Dad knew I hated this ridiculous skirt, it reminded me of ballerinas and I hated ballet. But I wasn't going to let that ruin my day.

"I'm ready!" Lydia came bouncing through the shop. She was wearing a whimsical pink dress with matching crown, both made by Mom. I swear that whole girl's closet was full of tool and glitter. "Let's go!" she pulled me toward the door.

"Have fun!" Dad waved goodbye. His hair was a sandy blonde, the same as Lydia and Cleo's and he had warm brown eyes that crinkled around the corners whenever he smiled.

The day was hot and bright and Lydia skipped down the street, our neighborhood was located toward the outskirts of the big city area and had a metal gate out front but it was rarely ever closed. We continued walking past the other shops and homes until we reached a big oak tree that stood in the middle of the square. It had a few lower branches that Lydia quickly struggled to climb onto. Cleo ran over to me.

"Finally!" he rolled his eyes at me and adjusted the pilot's hat on his head.

"Finally? Be happy I even got up this morning," I said and walked over to the tree. Sitting at the base of the trunk was Athanasia, she looked completely bored.

Athanasia was the same age as me and was one of my best friends. But unlike me she was the definition of 'out there'. Her skin was dyed a light pink and her natural hair color was blonde but today it had streaks of every color, I bet a rainbow would be jealous of her stripes. She also had golden hearts tattooed on her cheeks like little freckles. She sometimes reminded me of a pixie or even one of Lydia's Barbie dolls but I wasn't about to say that out loud.

"I thought you'd be watching the games," I raised an eyebrow at her. Another thing we didn't have in common was she loved the games, especially this year.

"Nah, things died down for the moment," she replied.

"Yay!" Lydia cheered and ran over to place a crown of flowers on her head, "you can be my handmaiden!" Lydia adored her, maybe because of the whole pixie thing.

"Oh aren't I lucky," she said sarcastically. Lydia gave me my own crown made of wild flowers and I placed it on my head then I took a wooden sword from Cleo, gotta love your siblings if I'm willing to look the part.

"Where's Ajax and Neo?" I asked looking around for them.

"Hiding," Cleo whispered and cautiously looked around like they could jump out at any second. "They could attack at any minute so be on guard," he swung his wooden sword through the air.

"Oh no, I'm terrified," Athanasia said in her bored tone.

I ignored her, "What's the game plan?" I asked.

"I'm the princess! I'm the princess!" Lydia hollered and waved her hand in the air which almost made her fall off her branch. I walked over to help steady her again.

"The castle is under attack! The villains, General Pain and Sir Awesome," those were Ajax and Neo's names in the game, "Are wanting to take over by kidnapping the princess."

"Which is me! I'm the princess!" Lydia hollered out again.

"Yes Lydia you're the princess," Cleo reassured her.

She smiled proudly and adjusted the crown on her head, "that's Princess Daffodil to you."

"Battle strategy?" I asked.

"Protect the Princess and the castle, duh!" He said like it was the most obviously thing in the world.

"Good plan," I agreed.

We started walking in circles around the tree. This went on for about fifteen minutes. Where were they? They had made no moves yet, and if they didn't soon I was going to start looking for them.

"Not that this isn't fun but…." Athanasia started to say, "I'm going to go see how the games are progressing so far," She gave her crown back to Lydia then raced off. Typical Athanasia, but she was more fun when we weren't playing childish games.

"Aw," Lydia frowned as she left but was quickly distracted and started humming to herself.

"Shhh!" Cleo hissed for us to be quiet.

"No!" Lydia protested and started to sing louder.

"Be quiet for a second! Do you hear that?" Lydia fell silent and I listened closely trying to hear what Cleo was fussing about.

Then I heard it, rustling coming from…the tree! The leaves were so thick that it was a perfect hiding spot. Of course, why hadn't I thought of that earlier?

"The tree!" I yelled and we started charging. Before I could even reach it, a dark figure jumped down from a higher branch, snatched Lydia, and started running in the opposite direction.

"We're under seize!" Cleo screamed, "Charge!" And he raced after Neo.

In every game we played, Neo was always the bad guy. He fit the part too. He had dark brown almost black hair with striking grayish blue eyes, plus he was very athletic. He also had a scar over his left eye which earned him the nickname hot shot because he thought he could do anything.

The scar had come from a Jabber jay. When we were about seven or eight Neo, Athanasia and I were all playing near the big oak tree. Athanasia spotted the bird first but it was Neo who wanted to catch it. I told him it was dangerous and to just leave the poor thing alone but he wouldn't listen.

"I'll be fine! Just wait and see it'll make a great pet!" He had just started up the tree and toward the bird when it screeched at him. It sounded like a loud scream from a person;Jabber Jays could mimic the voices of others. But that didn't stop Neo, he kept climbing until he was only a few feet away from it. He reached a shaky hand out toward it but just as he moved the jabber jay attacked.

It flew right for him, luckily Neo was smart enough to close his eyes as it charge for him, claws bared. It flew away and Neo fell from the tree and landed on his back. I ran over to him and gasped to see him sprawled on the ground. Athanasia screamed frantically for help. But when I reached him he had this huge smiled across his face.

"That was awesome!" He laughed. Later his mom scowled him for it but he didn't seem to care. What was even odder about this was that I thought all the jabber jays where dead?

His mom offered to get the scar removed but instead he got a tattoo to cover the scratch up. Now three black claw marks covered his left eye and an image of a jabber jay on his arm. "Battle scars," He told me.

"Stop thief!" Cleo yelled as he chased Neo. Lydia just giggled as he swung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Never!" Ajax called and darted out in the middle of the street to block Cleo's path. Ajax was a spitting image of his brother, same hair, skin tone, at times even the same cocky attitude. The only difference was he had bright green eyes like his mother. He raised his wooden sword high in the air and adjusted the Viking helmet on his head. They had gotten most their props from Dad, they were items that didn't sell.

Cleo raced toward Ajax and swung his wooden sword at him, Ajax blocked and wood met wood.

"General Pain, we meet again!" Cleo said and swung. Ajax laughed and swung back, "prepare to be defeated Commander Incredible!"

They laughed as they each continued to swing their swords at each other; I couldn't help but get all goo goo eyes at them. They were just so cute!

"Lady Hana, go save Princess Daffodil from Sir Awesome's evil clutches!" Cleo yelled at me.

"Yes Commander!" I giggled and saluted him before running down the street in the direction Neo went.

I ran until I had made a full circle around the block and was back standing at the metal gate. Lying on the ground asleep was Titan, Neo and Ajax's dog, a Rottweiler to be more exact. And next to him was Lydia's glittering crown. I walked over and picked it up. Did Neo take her outside the gated area? That was against the rules of the game, stay within the boundaries.

I heard footsteps and looked up in time to stare down the wooden blade of Neo's sword. He was wearing a black cloak because he said, "All villains like to hide in the shadows." Lydia was clinging to his back. I just smirked and pointed my sword right back at him.

"Surrender," He said his voice full of steel.

"Or what?" I taunted.

He thought about it for a second then replied, "Or I'll feed the Princess to my dragon," He gestured to Titan, who just yawned and turned his head away from us. Titan would never hurt a fly and had to put up with us and our silly games.

"Not if I get her first," I said and shot forward to whack him in the shin with my sword.

"Ouch!" He cried and whacked me in the side. Lydia giggled as we went back and forth swinging our swords at each other.

"Lydia! Run!" I told her.

"I can't!" She replied still clinging to his back.

"Just let go."

"Oh," She unwrapped her little arms from around his neck and fell to the ground. She gently dusted off her dress, took back her crown, and then started running back toward the tree.

"Not fair!" Neo protested but I blocked his path.

"It's totally fair, hot shot," I laughed and blocked his swing.

"Keep talking, maybe someday you'll say something intelligent," He joked. Oh he was going to get it.

"Now I'm mad," I said but Neo just smiled because he knew just how to push my buttons. "Titan sick 'em!" I called to Titan who lifted his head to look at me. I whistled at him this time and he responded instantly. He got to his feet and tackled Neo, knocking him on his back and started to lick his face.

"No Titan, you're on my side remember?" Neo pushed the dog off of him and wiped the slobber from his face. I ripped the sword out of his hand and pointed mine at him, "okay okay, I surrender," Neo raised his hands and smiled.

I escorted him back to the tree because Cleo wanted all prisoners thrown in the 'dungeon', which was just sitting at the base of the tree until someone came to rescue you. When we got there I found Cleo, Lydia, and miserable looking Ajax sitting in the 'dungeon'.

"Looks like the castle is safe," Cleo smiled.

"Or is it?" Neo said and snatched both of the swords out of my hands when my guard was down. He threw one to Ajax then wrapped one arm around my waist and held the wooden sword to my throat.

"ha-ha-ha!" he laughed menacingly. I just rolled my eyes at him, he always was a little over theatrical when it came to playing pretend. I guess it was just for the younger kids. "I'm taking lady Hana as my prisoner unless you surrender the castle to us!"

"Oh no!" Lydia really looked terrified. Sometimes she took things to seriously.

"No don't!" I said dramatically, real damsel in distress like, "save the castle, leave me! I sacrifice myself for the sake of your safety Princess!" Ajax and Neo took over the castle the last time and I wasn't going to let them win again.

"No!" Lydia stomped her foot on the ground looking frustrated. "I command you to release her!"

"That doesn't applied to us," Ajax said and joined his brother. Lydia stomped her foot again and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine if you won't surrender the castle to us then lady Hana is of no more use to us," Neo declared and pretended to slit my throat. He let me go and I think I got a little too into my death scene.

I fell to the ground, clinging to my throat and gasping for air. I pretended like I couldn't support my own weight so I fell on my side and started having seizures. Lydia gasped but the boys had a hard time stifling their laughter. Finally I went limp and stuck out my tongue. Lydia ran to my side.

"Hana? Hana! Don't die!" She said and I would have opened my eyes to tell her that it wasn't real until she said, "Who's going to worship me now?" Seriously? That's what she was worried about? Here I was dying, well it was just pretend but still. Little kids were so confusing sometimes.

"She was a brave warrior," Cleo said.

"Aradhana!" I opened my eyes when I heard Athanasia calling me, "Aradhana! Neo! You guys have gotta see this! The games are almost over, come on!" She beckoned for us to follow her inside my parents shop. I told the kids to stay outside and continue playing; I didn't want them seeing any of the bloodshed.

We both walked inside to see what the fuss was about and joked along the way. I wasn't all too excited to see how this year's Hunger Games ended and I could tell that Neo wasn't too thrilled either. I guess that's why I liked Neo, he was a relief from Athanasia when I couldn't take all her fussing over simple things, changing her look ever week, and excitement over something like the games. We joked, helped each other out, played with the younger kids, and he was easy to talk too. But Athanasia was a good friend when it came to girl stuff, I would hang around Neo and Ajax so much that a little girl time was great. So I guess they balanced each other out.

"The Gamemakers changed the rules! Now two people can win if they're from the same district, can you believe that!" Athanasia explained when we found our way to the TV.

"They'd change the rules just like that?" Neo ask.

"Yup! Isn't it great! That means if Katniss and Peeta win they can be together, it's so romantic!" She said, jumping up and down excited and flailing her arms around.

"In a morbid way I guess," I said and turned my attention toward the screen. She filled me in that there were only three tributes left and they were attacked by mutts, and just a few moments ago Katniss had killed the other tribute meaning they had won the games. The tributes from district 12 were slowly making their way down from the huge cornucopia and over to the lake, it looked like the boy was badly hurt. Finally they made it and we all waited in silence for the announcement signally the end of the games. The hovercraft came to take Cato's body and the minutes wore on.

"It's dragging on," Neo said looking at the clock.

"Why aren't they ending the games yet?" Athanasia asked impatiently.

"Something's up," My Dad had a suspicious look on his face. His eyes narrowed as he studied the screen. I looked over at Mom, still sitting at the counter and was totally consumed in stitch work.

Finally the announcer's voice, Claudius Templesmith, broke the silence, "Greetings to the final contestants of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. The earlier revision has been revoked. Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."

"NO!" Athanasia yelled, pulling on her fair and falling to her knees.

"I knew something was off," My Dad shook his head and went back to organizing the shelves.

"It's so sad," Mom said but she didn't look up from her stitch work, "making lovers turn on each other, it's cruel."

"Yes it is! That's totally unfair!" Athanasia cried stomping her feet the same way Lydia does.

"That's why I hate this, too much..." Neo began.

"Drama?" I finished his sentence and he nodded in agreement.

How would that feel? Loosing someone you love? Worse yet, loosing them and knowing you were the cause of it, their blood forever on your hands. Or even giving yourself up in order to save the one you love. Would I ever be able to do that? Would I ever love someone so much I'd give my life to save theirs? Probably my family, I know I'd take a bullet for them any day. But would I be scarred to die then? It was for a good cause that would take some pressure off, right?

We all watched as the tributes argued back and forth about who should die. I could hear the kids outside laughing with each other. I looked over at Athanasia who looked close to tears, Neo was fiddling with a small statue he found on a shelf. Like he could care less about what happened next, or maybe he was just trying to distract himself.

I turned back to the screen. Peeta was saying something about how there had to be one victor and he was going on about how it should be her and how much he cared about her. But she looked miles away, deep in thought. Then she pulled out a pouch and handed him what looked like berries and helped him to his feet.

"On the count of three," they told each other.

"The berries!" Athanasia screamed, "Their poisonous!"

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because they used them earlier, haven't you been watching?" No, I hadn't. I missed a lot actually.

They were back to back now and counting down.

_One._

"That's suicide, isn't it?" Neo put the statue back and turned toward the TV.

_Two. _

Mom had stopped her sewing, her eyes wide and glued to the screen. Even Dad was speechless at what he was watching.

_Three. _

"They can't stand to live without each other," Athanasia said dreamily.

They lifted the berries to their mouths now and were about to swallow. About to both take their lives. Was it out of love? Obliviously, but why did Mom and Dad have those odd expressions of their faces, like they knew something I didn't. There wasn't going to be a winner of the games this year, was that what worried them?

"Stop!" Claudius's voice broke through, the tributes immediately spat the berries out, "ladies and gentlemen, I am please to present the victors of the seventy-forth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you the tributes from district twelve!

"Thank goodness!" Athanasia looked relieved and had her hand on her chest like she just had a heart attack or something.

"That was intense," I said but I couldn't help look around at the still concerned looks of my parents even Neo had that look.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "Did it not end the way you hoped?"

"They just tried to kill themselves," My Mother said.

"I know, so tragic, so romantic," Athanasia sang.

"Yeah so?" I said, still not getting what was so important.

"It almost looked like she tried too…" Dad trailed off.

"Tried to what?" I asked again, now frustrated.

"Defy the Capitol," Neo said, "they _both_ tried killing themselves that has never happened before."

I finally was able to put it all together, "that's why Claudius stepped in before they could," He had said it only moments before the rule book states…

"There has to be a winner," I whispered the words. That's why they bended the rules again, because without a winner, what was the point? That was the partly the point, only one could come out alive, but two did this time. They had defied Capitol. That could get a person killed. Were they going to be killed for what they did? What would President Snow say about this?


	2. Chapter 2

2

I shuttered as I heard another loud crash from outside. Lydia clung tighter to me and buried her head in my chest. The rebellion was in full swing now. It was so dark in the basement of our house, the power was out and we huddled together wishing it would stop, why won't this madness stop?

The rebellion had started not too long ago, the districts were rebelling against Capitol and now they had invaded the city. It all centered around Katniss Everdeen, the Mockingjay, after what she had done in the arena with the berries. Everything had changed.

Now millions of people from Capitol hide in panic, ran through the streets, or lay dead on the ground. President Snow lied to us; he said he had everything under control. Despite the fact that every time he tried to air something on TV the rebels blocked the signal and showed their own broadcast of what really was happening. I couldn't believe half the stuff I saw. Had Snow really let all that happen? Let all those people die? It's like he didn't care. What was happening?

Gun fire erupted from outside and screams followed. Lydia whimpered in my arms and I tried to tell her everything was going to be alright, but it's hard to say something you're not sure of. Warm tears streaked down my face that I couldn't hold back. I had to stay strong for the kids, for my parents, for myself. But I couldn't, I just seemed to fall apart.

Was everyone okay? What happened to Athanasia? I'd give anything to see her perky pink face. What about Ajax? Neo? Where they dead? I wouldn't be able to handle it if they were. But I couldn't do anything at the moment. I was trapped in the basement, helpless, scarred and torn to pieces. When would this end? Please just make it end.

"We need to get out of here, I feel like we're sitting ducks," My Mother said with a shaky breath.

"It's dangerous out there Hester! What about the children?" I heard my Father's voice.

"What about the Presidents mansion? They said its safe there, it's probably our only chance," She protested.

"I heard Snow was letting people stay in his mansion," Cleo said, I couldn't see him but I could feel his arm and I pulled him close. I didn't think leaving the basement was a good idea. Could we even trust Snow anymore? After everything, wasn't he partly to blame?

I heard my Father sigh, "Fine, your right it's probably our best chance and our only other option right now. Get your coats, let's go."

We felt around until I finally found the closet and we all grabbed a coat. I pulled on my new one, hand stitched by Mom. The same one she was working on the very day the Hunger Games ended, the day the rebellion started.

It was a royal blue, well fitted to my figure and hung a little above my knees. I pulled it on, buttoned it, and tied the belt. I quickly helped Lydia into her bright pink coat then took her hand and Cleo's in mine as we all ascended up the stairs.

Upstairs light filter in threw the windows, snow covered the ground and in the distance we could hear the battle raging. An eerie feeling washed over me. We made our way out the door, a gush of cold wind hit my face and stung like needles as it brushed my cheek. We kept walking until we got to the gates, where I froze from shock at what I saw.

It looked as if someone had tried to lock the gates, all my life and they had never been closed until now. The metal was bended and broken in some places, it barely hung on its hedges and a chain lay in the snow. It looked like someone had a hard time getting out. Blood was splattered and stood out against the white snow. I prayed it wasn't from someone I knew. But this wasn't the only thing that shocked me.

There, lying on the ground in the same spot he always sat when he wanted to take a nap, was Titan. I would have thought he was sleeping like he normally did at this time. Except there was a black cloak draped over him covered in blood, he wasn't breathing, wasn't moving. I run to him and knelt at his side.

"Titan…" I said barely loud enough for anyone to here. What happened to him? I gently lifted the cloak off of him and saw a huge gash in his side. I examined the cloak, it was Neo's. Was all that blood Titan's? Or was some his? Where was he?

"Is he…?" Cleo started but I didn't have to answer, he saw the wound and all the blood.

"Let's keep moving," Dad said and picked Lydia up in his arms and started walking, Mom and Cleo followed but I stayed put. I couldn't find the strength to move. My muscles felt stiff, I wanted to just lie in the cold, wet snow and stay like that forever.

"Aradhana," My Mother called to me, but I didn't acknowledge her. My mind kept racing through every possibility, every worse scenario. They were dead weren't they? All of them, but why? They didn't deserve to die, not even close. But I was jumping to conclusions wasn't I? Maybe they were safe somewhere, but how would I know? Would I ever hear Ajax laugh again? Listen to Athanasia complain about the stylist doing her colorful hair wrong? Joke with Neo? Would anything be the same again?

"Aradhana we need to go darling," Mom tried again.

"Hana please! Please!" Lydia cried, Dad had stopped walking.

"Aradhana?" I felt Mom wrap a comforting arm around me.

"They can't be dead can they? They just can't!" I said through thick tears.

"I'm sure their fine, but we must hurry darling. Before the rebels catch us," Her voice sounded strained. I knew she was only saying that to make me feel a little bit better.

"Hana! Please! I don't want to leave you! Hana! Hana!" Lydia was practically screaming at the top of her lungs now. She struggled in Dads hold trying to break free. I finally snapped out of it, I needed to remember to stay strong.

I got to my feet again, my knees felt weak. I pressed forward, past the gate, away from our home, away from everything. I wiped the tears from my face, straighten my shoulders, and pulled Lydia into my arms. "Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere. I promise," I whispered to her and held her tightly.

We continued making our slow way to the President's mansion. It wasn't easy; peacekeepers ran through the streets, rebels fired at will, bodies lay sprawled on the ground. We had to cover the kid's eyes from it; I didn't want them seeing this. We were fired at multiple times but fortunately for us, no one got hurt.

Finally, for what seemed like forever we made it to the City Circle, every inch was covered with people of Capitol with frighten looks. The peacekeepers patrolled the area and looked shaken themselves, the rebels could enter this part of the city any minute.

"Stay together," Dad said and directed us through the mob of people toward the President's mansion at the end of the square. I did a head sweep of the crowd looking for anyone I might recognize. I could spot Athanasia anywhere but I couldn't find her bright colored hair. My knee's felt like they may buckle under me again.

We squeezed through the crowd of panicked people until we reached the Mansion. There were walls, barriers, surrounding the building. A few peacekeepers stood near the entrance, it looked like they were ushering people in, no, just children inside the thick walls. I saw the frantic look on Moms face as she rushed over to them.

"Help us, please! We seek refuge."

"Yeah well so do all of these people," The peacekeeper gestured to the crowd then turned away from us.

"Please!" My Mother grabbed him by the sleeve, "We're desperate!"

He ripped his arm out of her grip, "And you don't think all these people aren't?" He snorted.

"But there must be something you can do?" Mom pleaded.

The man did a look over of us, "Fine, but just the kids," He said and moved aside to make room.

"Thank you," My Mother said with relief in her voice. She took Lydia out of my arms to hug and kiss her. "No! I don't want to leave you Mama!" Lydia cried.

"I know darling, but its better this way," Mom blinked back her tears then set her down and knelt in front of Cleo. She gently kissed his forehead and hugged him tightly whispering words of comfort. Then she turned to me.

"Watch them, make sure they stay safe. I love you darling."

"I will Mom," I manage to get out then we hugged. Dad hugged the younger kids good-bye, "You're the man of the family now Cleo, stay brave," He whispered to him. Cleo looked hurt, confused, like he didn't know why he was saying this but I did. I could tell by the worried look on his face that he wasn't sure how things would play out or even if they'd make it. Cleo just nodded and kissed his cheek.

The peacekeepers ushered us in. Then they started closing the barriers. I took one last look at my parents; this wouldn't be the last time I saw them though would it? Things would be alright, they just had to be. Then I realized I hadn't hugged Dad good-bye.

"Wait here," I told Lydia and Cleo then turned toward the peacekeepers, "Wait!" I yelled and they hesitated for a second. But that was enough for me to slip through the barriers and run into Dads arms.

"Be safe sweetheart," He said.

"Love you Dad," I choked out. I let go of him then turned back to the barriers just in time to watch them shut.

"No wait!" I cried. "You have to let me in!"

"Sorry the barriers are closed. You had your chance," He told me.

"But I only left for a second. Please! My little brother and sister are in there!"

"There's nothing I can do," He said then turned away from me like he could care less. No, I couldn't just leave them there by themselves I promised. I promised I wouldn't.

Mom saw the distressed look on my face and wrapped me in her arms, "We don't have to worry. Their safe, we need to worry about us now," She said calmly even though I could see the tears in her eyes.

We found an open space among the crowd but still close enough to the barriers so we could keep an eye on the kids through the walls. We all huddled in the snow, wet, cold and jumped every time we heard gun fire in the distance. It was definitely getting closer, only a matter of minutes before they entered the square.

I heard a loud humming and looked up to see a Capitol hovercraft soaring over the barrier walls. It stopped in mid air over the children, the hatch at the bottom opened and tiny parachutes flew out and floated to the ground. The hovercraft hummed away and the kids ran to the gifts. I spotted Cleo handing one to Lydia, her face lit up for a moment at the package.

I wished we had stayed at the house. Even if we were trapped and helpless in the dark basement at least we would all be alive and together. At least I would still have a family and my life wouldn't take an unexpected turn of events that I wouldn't ever be ready for, because in that moment everything went from bad to worse.

Just as the kids rushed for the parachutes they exploded. Flames burst out with a loud _BOOM!_ It was strong enough to blast the barrier walls open. Screams grew louder and the rebels reached the square. The peacekeepers looked surprised, the refugees all gathered in the square ran for cover.

"NO!" My Mother screamed at the top of her lungs as we all watched in horror. I couldn't speak, my mouth betrayed me, tears ran freely from my eyes, and my body felt numb. They were dead. My little brother and sister both…dead. Just like that. And it was the Capitols fault, not the rebels. That was a Capitol aircraft that did that.

Rebel medics ran toward the helpless kids. Some of them cried out in agony, covered in terrible burns. But I couldn't see Lydia or Cleo, there were a few scattered remains burnt to a crisped. I couldn't bear to look or even think that those could be them.

I forced myself to my feet, my body ached but I ignored it and race towards the barriers. My Mother screamed for me to come back, I heard Dad call my name but I didn't listen. I glanced back to see if they were following but the crowd was too thick.

I heard gun fire as fights broke out between the rebels and peacekeepers. But I tried my best to ignore them and focus on getting to my siblings. I wasn't the only one running toward the Mansion, there was another girl holding a gun in her hands and wearing a tattered coat, she looked familiar. I hesitated for a second, but no it couldn't be her.

"Prim!" she yelled. One of the medics, a girl with long blond hair turned looking for the caller.

_BOOM!_

Another round of explosions broke out, flames engulfing everything within range. That was the end of the rebels medics and any chance I might have had in finding my Cleo or Lydia alive. The force of the explosions knocked me over. The other girl was closer to the barriers then I was and caught on the fire. Flames licked up her body and she flew back into the snow.

I got back on my shaky feet and ran as more rebels swarmed the bomb sight. More bodies lie in the snow and I realize I couldn't find my parents.

"MOM!" I yelled as loud as my voice would go, "DAD!" Where'd they go? The crowd carried them away. Maybe they found a safe place to hide. More gun fire, some in my direction. I ducked and tried to run for cover, but I tripped over my own foot and covered my head so I wouldn't not trampled by the mob. I lifted my head and spotted a gun lying on the ground in front of me. I reached out and grabbed it then force myself back up. I hope I don't have to use this but I'm desperate right now.

I need to find shelter, I think to myself. I'm bruised, blooding, scared, and alone right now but I held my head high and tried to stay focus. Despite the fact that half my family is dead and I don't know the fate of the other half or my friends. I run as fast as my legs will carry me away from the fight taking place in the square.

I made a sharp left and almost fell to my death. In front of me is where the street used to be; now it's a massive hole. The ground shook under my feet and I watched in astonishment as two panels rise from the pit and recreate the street again. Must be one of the Capitol pods they set up , Neo told me rumors about them but I never believed him, until now.

I turned to find shops and a few houses lining the streets, I went to the first one and started jiggling the knob, locked. I tried the next one and the next but they all were locked as well. I was about to try knocking down the door or even shoot it open when I noticed the building next to me. The door knob looked like I had been blown completely off. I didn't hesitate; I ripped the door open and went inside.

I slammed the door shut behind me and let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I leaned my forehead against the wood and sighed in relief, finally I was safe.

I heard whispering, the sound of a gun reloading and something else but I couldn't tell what it was. I felt something sharp press against my back and a harsh voice say, "drop the gun." I swirled around to find an arrow pointed at my heart.

There were two men standing in front of me, they weren't peacekeepers that was sure, they weren't from Capitol either, it was easy to tell. They must be rebels. I heard a groan, I looked behind them and saw two peacekeepers slumped on the ground, one was unconscious the other had an arrow threw him.

"st-stand back," I said trying to muster any courage I might have in me. "I-I'll shoot." I pointed my gun back at them, my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"I doubt you even know how to work that thing," the one aiming the bow and arrow at me smirked. He didn't look that much older than me, maybe just a few years. He had tan skin, dark hair, and green eyes. His face was covered in scratches and a few bruises like he was in a fight recently. I looked at the other rebel. He looked a little older than the other, with dirty blonde hair and a stern look on his face.

He was right though, I'd never handled one of these before but how complicated could it be? Just aim and pull the trigger. And that's just what I did. I aimed right for his head and shot….but nothing happened. I tried pulling the trigger again but still nothing. I shook the gun furiously, pulling the trigger again and again and again but still nothing.

Crap.

I was out of ammo and trapped in a room with two armed rebels. Could this day get any worse? They just laughed at my failed attempts with working firearms so I did the next best thing you could do with a gun, I used it as a hammer. I charged the first rebel and smacked him right in the head with the back of my gun. I went for another but he ripped the gun from my hands and knocked me to the ground. He looked mad now. He took aim again with his bow and arrow, straight for my head.

"Please!" I begged and raised my arms in defense. "I'm sorry!"

"Why? Why shouldn't I just shot you right threw the head?" He asked and I started frantically thinking of a response.

The second rebels face softened, his eye bore into mine. "Gale, she's just a girl."

Gale hesitated but then raised his weapon again. "Please," I tried one more time, a few more tears seeping down my cheeks. He glanced back at his partner who gave him a questioning look in return. Then he sighed and lowered his weapon.

"I won't hurt you, but you're coming with us," He said and grabbed my arm and pulled me to a standing position, "But make one wrong move and I won't hesitate," His harsh voice whispered in my ear. I just gulped loudly and nodded, not trusting my own voice right now.

They both escorted me out the building and down the streets, gun and arrow pointed at my back. More rebels crowded the streets and fewer Capitol citizens. And by the time we had gotten to the Presidents mansion it had been completely overthrown, the rebels won.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

It was so dark in this tiny cell. There were no metal bars, no windows, just four concrete walls and a metal door that was always locked. My stomach ached for food and I had goose bumps covering every inch of my skin from the cold. The smell of the room made me gag every time I took in air, I was totally miserable.

After the two rebels captured me they took me back to the mansion. They had practically moved into the place. Rebels ran around shouting orders and rounding up any capitol people that were left. And many more moved in to take over the remaining streets of the city. Was this really happening? Just like that my life had changed. And it made my stomach turn; I didn't have a good feeling about this.

The first rebel, Gale, left to tend to his wounds and kept mumbling to himself about some girl. Which left me alone with stern face. I still didn't know his name. And I wasn't going to ask either. But he seemed nicer then the first guy, well a few seconds ago he did. I looked back at him now, instead of that sympathetic look in his eyes it was replaced again with a scowl. He just shoved me between my shoulder blades and told me to keep moving.

I think the worst part was entering the building. The snow in the front was partly melted away. Burnt marks and a few blood splatters were the only evidence of the explosion, they must have cleaned up the scene. I couldn't help but think of my poor brother and sister and choked back tears. Where were my parents? I wanted to believe they were perfectly fine but deep down I knew that wasn't the truth, I could only suspect the worst. But there was still hope.

We walked through the doors into the huge marble foyer. The wounded lay on the floor, medics helped bandage them up. Others were spread out around the room, studying maps, cleaning guns, or talking amongst themselves. I just kept my head down and avoided eye contact. I noticed a few Capitol citizens among them; it was easy for me to pick them out even if they weren't very noticeable. They weren't prisoners like I was. Maybe they had surrendered or maybe they had been working with the rebels all along.

Stern face guided me into smaller room. There was a glossy wood desk, shelves full of books and other knick knacks lining the walls. An older woman with shoulder length gray hair was talking with two rebels. She looked over at me and her eyes seemed to boar into mine making it hard to look away.

"President Coin," stern face addressed her, "I found this girl wondering around. What should I do with her?"

Her eyes looked me up and down and her face expression was one of distaste as she said, "Just put her with the others," And then went back to her conversation. As if I wasn't even good enough for a minute of her time. Stern face just jabbed me with his gun again and stirred me out the door. But halfway over the threshold I turned and slid back into the room.

"Wait," I said which got her attention, "I have parents, Hester and Arsen Pierce. We got separated and I need to find them."

She gave me a blank stare, like her mind couldn't process this. She just nodded at stern face. I felt his hands grasp my arms and start to pull me from the room. "No! Wait, please! Can't you at least help me find them?" I pleaded and fought against him.

"Get her out of here," Coin said and he struggled to pull me along.

"No! I already lost my siblings and I'm not leaving until I get what I want!" I ripped out of his hold and planted my feet firmly in front of the desk.

"You're just like the rest of them, always thinking of yourselves. That's why we started this war. So we could be free from Capitol and free to do what we please instead of working ourselves to death to fill your people's needs. As for your parents I do not know, their most likely dead."

"No!" I screamed, "They aren't, they can't be!"

Coin slammed both hands down on the desk top and made me jump, "Face the facts girl! I will not help you. But if you haven't seen them yet then their most likely laying in streets dead like countless others!" I shook my head, I wasn't going to listen to her, "Get her out of my sights!" She gestured for stern face to take me. He gripped my shoulders and I didn't fight him this time. I let him lead me out of the room and to the cells which were located in the lower levels of the mansion.

So here I was sitting in dark with nothing to do. How long had I been in here? I couldn't tell, maybe a few hours? Minutes? Possibly days? It felt like forever to me. Every once in awhile they'd bring me a bucket full of water which was stall and not that clean. Also a tray of food, which I refused to even touch. It looked like something Titan would spit up and smelled unpleasant.

It went on like this for….well I'm not sure how long. There weren't any windows so I didn't know whether it was day or night. I spent most the time sleeping or morning the lost of my family and friends. I still didn't know what happened to everyone. I wasn't alone in the darkness. I could hear whispering through the cracks in the walls. The voices sounded small and scarred. I tried talking back to them but they'd hush themselves and then start up again a few minutes later.

My stomach groaned as I glanced over at the tray of old food in the corner which was starting to look really good right now. It wasn't that bad once you got past the taste and took control of the gagging. But at least my stomach wasn't hurting anymore.

I jumped as I heard a loud _CLANG!_ From outside my cell. Loud footsteps followed, it sounded like a group of people walking throw the corridor. I heard whispering, then the sounds of doors opening then slamming shut, followed by moans and then footsteps walking away. I listened intently to every sound. What was happening out there?

The metal door to my cell screeched open which made me cringed. A guard stood in the door way and shinned a light at me. I raised my hand to block it because it hurt my eyes. The guard walked forward and gripped my arm and shinned his light right in my face, trying to get a good look at me. I shut my eyes tight and groaned because this wasn't comfortable for me. He forced me to my foot. My legs felt unstable and shook uncontrollably. Then he started dragging me out of my cell and down the dark corridor.

"What's going on? Where are you taking me?" I asked and was surprised at the sound of my weak voice.

"It's time for your close up," He said. Close up? What was he talking about?

We ascended a flight of stairs, we were out of the basement but it was still gloomy in this part of the mansion. There were huge windows of the other side of the room, but the curtains were closed which only let a small amount of light trickle into the room making it an eerie gray. He led me to an open door and shoved me inside.

"Hey!" I cried and rubbed my throbbing arm. A giant spot light flashed on and trained on me. I growled at another annoying light and tried to shield my eyes.

I waited for my eyes to adjust; I could make out a few other people stood in the room with me. There was also a camera focused in my direction and a TV on the wall with a live image of me. I gasped as I saw myself. I had dirt smudged on my face and clothes. My hair was in a mess and I looked like I lost weight, I didn't look healthy, I look liked I come back from the dead or something.

A woman ran up to me and started wiping my face and applying make-up. I tried to push her away but she smacked my hand and went back to work. Another woman came up to me and brushed threw my hair. I could tell they were both Capitol by their interesting hair and make-up, also one had light green skin.

When they had finished they stepped away and I stared at the new image of me. well it wasn't that bad anymore but I looked….hollow.

"State your full name, age, and were your from please," I heard a woman's voice address me. I looked around for the source. She sat next to the camera in a folding chair, her head was shaved and tattooed with green vines. Her legs were crossed and she held a clipboard in her hands.

"What?" I asked confused, "what's going on? Who are you?"

"My name is Cressida, but that's not important at the moment. Now state your full name, age, and were you are from," She repeated and rolled her eyes like she'd been doing this all day.

"M-my name is_" I started but was cut off.

"Look into the camera honey, and remember to smile!" She smiled big and pointed to her lips.

I didn't think I had it in me to smile, but I gave a small grin and started again, "My name is Aradhana Pierce, I'm sixteen, and live in Capitol."

"And cut! That was good, but let's try it again, a little more feeling in it. And remember dear, smile!" She made me repeat myself four more times until she thought I had gotten it perfect and dismissed me. A guard came and took me.

I tried asking more questions but no one would answer me, it was really frustrating. I was escorted into a Capitol vehicle; the guard never left my side. I was beginning to worry as the vehicle started making its way through town. Was I being put on trial or something? And what was with that film crew?

Construction was going on everywhere. I noticed a few buildings that were new and a few others still under repairs from all the damage that was done. I had lived in Capitol all my life, but now it looked so different. I also knew my way around Capitol well enough to know where we were going.

"Why are we going to the Training Center?" I asked puzzled as the building came into view. The Training Center was used for the tributes to get them ready for the Hunger Games, also for peacekeepers. The guard didn't answer me, like that was a surprise. I folded my arms and scowled.

We stopped in front of the building and the guard escorted me out and inside. He led me into an elevator and punched a number. It took us up to the sixth floor and the doors open with a cheery _ding! _Then he takes me to the dining room where he leaves me. I think I'm free of the guard but when I turn to glance back, two more close and block the doors. So much for freedom.

The smell hit me first, like freshly cooked bread, soup, juicy steak, and fruit. My mouth started to water. I looked around and found a table lined with food! Real food! I raced toward it was started savoring a juicy ripe strawberry.

"Finally decide to show up, I see," a voice from behind me laughed. I had a roll stuffed in my mouth but I turned around and see a table. Two people were seated there with an extra empty seat. The men who addressed me looked like he hadn't shaved for a week, his hair was a mess, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He gestured for me to sit with a flick of his hand. I quickly grabbed a plate and piled it high with food before taking my seat.

There's a different scent now, like something rotting and also hard liquor. The man had a bottle of wine in his hands, it was already half empty. Next to me sat a boy. He was scrawny with long wavy brown hair that fell in his face. He looked maybe twelve or thirteen? He glanced at me for only a second then went back to inhaling his plate of food. Looks like they starved him as well.

I'm not sure what to do first. The man just sits there drinking and staring at the both of us. After awhile I decide to ignore him and dig into my mountain of food. It tastes so good! I hadn't eaten good food for awhile and my stomach begged for more. I swallow to fast and started choking on a piece of meat.

"Slow down! No use in killing yourself just yet," He says.

"What?" I asked after downing some water to clear my throat. "Why am I here? What's going on?" He just grinned and took another swig from his bottle.

I slammed my fist down on the table, "Look mister! I've been through a lot! I lost my family and friends, I'm a prisoner, I'm tired, hungry, and I'm pretty sure a little crazy at the moment! I demand answers!" I glared at him, my nostrils flaring. He just gulped down the rest of the bottle and whipped his mouth.

"Tell me something!" I demanded again, the boy next to me stopped eating and stared up at me, he looked uncertain.

The man raised an eyebrow at me then did something that caught me off guard. He grabbed the empty wine bottle and hurled it in my direction. I quickly ducked, the bottle went sailing and shattered against the wall behind me.

"What was that for?" I asked glaring at him while he got up and took another bottle of liquor from the buffet table.

"Sit down," He told me.

"Not until I_"

"Sit down!" He said with more force this time. I shut my mouth and sat down. I was suddenly extremely interested with the meat on my plate. He sat back down as well, uncorked the bottle and took a swig.

"Don't these people know I'm retired?" He muttered to himself, "Just because I voted for this doesn't mean I want any part in it."

"Sir?" The boy next to me asked.

"What?"He turned toward him, spilling some of his drink in the process. The boy didn't say another word, he looked too scared to. "Speak up boy!"

"W-what's happening?" He stuttered, not making eye contact with either of us.

"What's happening? You don't know?" He waited for a response but we didn't make a sound, "Bright bunch you are," He chuckled.

"No one's told us anything apparently," I finally spoke up again, "Please sir, what day is it?"

"May 12th," He said. May 12th? No it couldn't be! That would mean I'd been in that blasted cell for almost five months!

"Then who are you?" I questioned.

"Haymitch," He hiccupped, "Abernathy, your mentor."

"Our mentor? Why would we need a mentor?" The boy asked. This was all so confusing.

"I'm asking myself that same question. But it's no use, you're stuck with me."

"Hold up, what exactly is going on?" I asked.

As if on cue the TV in the far corner of the room turned on by itself, a familiar anthem started playing. Then a cheery woman's voice started talking and scenes of the New Panem appeared on screen.

"Good evening everybody! As you can see we are slowing but surely rebuilding and thriving after winning the war with Capitol! And tonight is a new beginning for them and us. For years we had to suffer with loosing our children and watching them slaughter each other for the Capitols entertainment. For years we have been at their mercy, playing their games. But not anymore, we are free! And tonight it's time for them to feel how we felt for so long…for too long! Tonight is the beginning of the 76th Hunger Games!"

The words _76th hunger games_, flashed on screen and the anthem played again. My heart dropped, it wasn't what I thought it was, was it?

"I think that answers your question, doesn't it?" Haymitch glanced at me. It all made sense now. But it couldn't be true! Capitol would never use its own for the games. But Capitol wasn't in charge anymore, and the rebels were free to do whatever they wanted.

"I present to you your tributes!" the voice sang. Images of kids appeared on screen, they all stated their names, age, and where they were from. I recognized a few, like Damian Stanton who was a year older than me and was a total jerk. I went to school with him and he always pushed people around. One time he insulted Neo, which Neo being Neo he had to start a fight. Getting them both suspended for a week and he gave Neo a black eye.

Also Lystra Craft, who was only ten and the sweetest little girl I knew. She lived in the neighborhood. Her mother was one of our best customers. This wasn't right; the required age for the hunger games was twelve through eighteen.

"My names Cosmo Pate, I'm thirteen, and I live in District 2," My eyes widen when the boy who was sitting next to me flashed on screen. He looked terrified and his hands kept shaking. So far everyone who was a part of this was from Capitol but he was from district 2? I thought all the districts were part of the rebellion?

Right after Cosmo my face appeared. I look tired and not like myself. The smile on my face looked force, and it probably was. I groaned and rested my head on the table. It was just so much to take in. Never in my whole life did I think I was ever going to be part of the Hunger Games. Sure I'd imagine what it might be like but never had I wanted this! Plus with this guy as my mentor I was already dead.

"My name is Ajax Stone, I'm seven, and I'm from Capitol," My head shot up as I heard his familiar voice. No, anyone but Ajax. For sure he was too young for this! He was seven! They couldn't do this to him! I slammed my fist down in anger. At least I knew he was alive, for now.

More faces came on screen, it was already up to twenty-eight tributes. Usually there were only twenty four. "This isn't fair!" I cried. They just ignored my comment, Haymitch was too drunk to care, and Cosmo kept his eyes glued to the screen.

Finally the last tribute appeared on screen, and my heart just about broke into a million pieces.

"My name is Neo Stone, I'm sixteen, and I live in Capitol." He had a stern expression, as if he was mad at the whole world. He had a bruise on his cheek and his lip was split, like he'd recently been in a fight. He said each word with pride. He wasn't ashamed for being who he was. But deep in his eyes I could see fear.

The anthem played and an image of a Mockingjay appeared on screen and the woman's voice spoke again, "May the odds be ever in your favor."


	4. Chapter 4

4.

I didn't want to wake up the next morning. It felt nice to be sleeping in an actual bed then a smelly cell in the basement. I snuggled under the soft cotton sheets and readjusted my head on the fluffy pillow. I didn't have any dreams that night, which was good because for the past few months I had been reliving the events of the rebellion over and over again in my sleep. But I didn't have to worry about that now. Just silence and darkness…it was nice. And nothing could ruin this perfect moment.

Well almost nothing.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up! It's a big, big, big day!" A cheery high pitched voice sang in my ear. I jolted up right to find a woman with bright purple hair, which I was pretty sure was a wig, along with that she had on a lavender suit and heels to match. Behind her stood another woman with long wavy red hair that was pinned on one side with a flower clip, olive skin, and a beautiful floral dress. She smiled at me and bounced on the balls of her feet, she looked no more than early twenties at least.

"Who are you?" I asked and pulled the sheets up to my chin feeling uncomfortable.

"No hello? I thought you might have more manners than that," The woman with purple hair looked offended and wagged her finger in my face. But she quickly replaced it with a smile and continued speaking, "My name is Effie Trinket, oh I'm sure you've heard of me! And this is your stylist, Lurex."

"Stylist?" I asked, yawning and rubbing my eyes.

"Yes, yes, of course! She'll help you get ready for the Opening Ceremonies later this evening."

"Opening Ceremonies?"

"Yes! Their traditional and we want to make sure everyone gets a good look at you. Helps with getting sponsors."

I didn't want to be in the Opening Ceremonies, I just wanted to go back to sleep and stay like that forever. And what was the point anyway? I doubt we'd get any sponsors sense most of the tributes were from Capitol.

"I'll leave you two," she turned and started walking towards the door, but paused and said, "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" she cheered and hurried out of the room.

"Hello," Lurex said in a sweet and soothing voice. She sat on the edge of the bed next to me.

"Um…hi?" I said still uncomfortable and not wanting any part of all this.

"You must be Aradhana. I'm Lurex, but you already know that," she giggled to herself, "This is my first big break in the fashion business! And I want to make sure you look stunning!" she opened a book that she held in her hands and showed me drawings of beautiful gowns, stuff she must have worked on herself.

"Those look very nice," I said admiring them. I couldn't help but think of my Mom, which only put me in even a worse mood.

"Thank you! Now normally the outfits for the opening ceremonies are themed after the district of which the tribute is from. But sense you are from Capitol and most of the other tributes as well I don't want to have the same look as the others. I'm suspecting there might be a lot of high end styles, beautiful gowns, and silks. But instead of focusing on the place you came from I'd like to focus your style on you," I guess I didn't mind that, as least she seemed to care about me instead of ignore me like everyone else.

"Tell me about yourself," She turned to an empty page in her sketch book and started sketching an outline of a body.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"Anything, like your hobbies, personality, family life."

"Um…well I like to sew," I started off. Her eyes brighten up at this.

"Really?"

"Yeah, my Mom's a seamstress. Well she use to be…"I trailed off and started picking at my nails.

"Oh…" She seemed to get what I was hinting at but hesitated before asking, "what happened, if you don't mind me asking."

I did mind, I wasn't in the mood to spill out my life's story to some stranger I just met. Instead I went on with talking about myself, as if she had never asked the question, "I also like to read, and paint."

"You any good?" she played along and continued adding to her sketch.

"Yeah I guess," I paused, "My little sister," Maybe I should talk about it, people always said it helped.

"She was really into princesses and dragons fighting knights in armor. I use to do a lot of paintings for her. We sometimes sell them in our shop, if my Mom was willing to part with them," I laughed. My mom always liked to frame every piece I did. She'd hang them all around the house, even the ones I messed up on. I never quite understood why she kept everything we did, I found it silly at times.

_Its like a piece of you, don't you want to share it with the world?_ She used to tell me. My heart ached, I longed to be in her comforting arms hugging me and telling me not to worry about silly things. I missed them so much.

"I know what it's like," Lurex had stopped drawing and looked at me with understanding.

"What?"

"Losing someone you care about. I lost my little sister to the games. It was a long time ago when it happened. She was killed within the first few minutes of the gong ringing, never much of a fighter. I think about her every day," Lurex looked like she was reliving the memory; she shook her head and looked back at me.

"I should have done better," I mumbled to myself.

"What do you mean?"

I sighed, "I shouldn't have left them," I could feel my eyes tear up again. And then I couldn't help but spill out my guts. Lurex didn't seem to mind, she listened to every detail and nodded once in awhile. I told her about a little bit of my life before everything changed. I told her about the explosion, about losing my parents and being captured.

"Now I'm caught up in this mess! What's the point of this anyway, I'm just going to die out there!"

Lurex sighed and touched my arm, "Now I could tell you to cheer up and that this is a great honor, I could even say that you'll be amazing out there and you'll definitely win. But I know it's hard. And this is far from being an honor, it's one of the cruelest and uncivilized things I've ever seen. I don't know for sure if you'll win or not but I do know that you're a strong girl. Maybe not physically but mentally, I can tell from the story you just told me," She gave a comforting smile, "I can give you a bit of advice though. If you really want to survive, then focus on something. Have a goal in mind and when times are hard, remember that and it will keep you going, have faith and stay strong."

I suddenly wished she was my mentor.

I nodded and wiped the tears from my cheeks, "okay."

"Have anything in mind? Maybe the most obvious one, staying alive?" She asked. I shook my head. My family was gone, who knows what happened to my friends and the ones I did know about were trapped in the same situation as me. If I did live I'd just be alone.

I shook my head. Lurex looked back down at her drawing, tore it out of the book and crumpled it into a ball, "This just doesn't look like you."

"What? I thought it was fine."

"But it just doesn't scream you," She shook her head and threw the paper in the corner of the room, "You remind me of a story my mother use to tell me when I was younger," She smiled at me. I waited for her to continue and leaned back against my pillow.

"Have you ever seen this kind of flower before?" She asked me and unclipped the flower she had in her hair. She handed it to me so I could examine it better.

The clip was made out of plastic that was shaped like an interesting flower. The petals reminded me of tear drops but were slightly curved. It was a mixture of colors, bright white starting from the center which bled into a crimson red then finally darkened into a black at the very tips. In the center was a tiny pearl and around the petals where thin delicate spirals which were a silvery white.

I shook my head and handed the clip back to her. I had never seen a flower like that before but it was beautiful.

"It's called the Red Virtus," She told me as she clipped it back in her red hair.

"That's an odd name," I thought.

"Well there's a meaning behind it. Virtus is Latin for courage and bravery. Red is also the color for courage. Each element of the flower has a meaning to it."

"What are they?"

"Well let me tell you the story first so it all makes more sense," She paused before continuing, "Once upon a time, someplace far far away was a great kingdom. The king of this great nation was a very powerful but greedy man. Even though he had more land then the eye could see, it just wasn't enough for him. So one day the king decided to take more, but there was a small problem…"

"What?" I asked and sat up straight.

"A small village was located a few miles away from the walls of the kingdom, it was the only thing standing in the kings way. You see the land didn't belong to the king but he was too blinded by greed to care. The only way to get it was to take it by force. Now the king could have sent a small army of men to get the job done but instead he decided to have some fun. So he sent his best man out."

"Now this guy wasn't an ordinary soldier. He towered over everyone, every inch of him was pure muscle, he felt little pain, and was more animal then he was human. Along with that he was heavily armored and carried a blade of steel. When he arrived at the village the people were shocked but they would not back down. All though they were small in numbers they did their best in sending out any man willing to fight, but no one could take the beast down. He was so amused by this that he even turned it into a challenge, that if someone dare fight him and win then he'd leave. The poor village was in distress, many were hurt and half the homes where already lost. What hope was there left? Even the strongest, bravest man in the village trembled and did not dare take up his challenge."

"So what happened? What does this have to do with a flower?" I asked, I wasn't quit understanding how this story reminded her of me.

"Well there was one person brave enough, a girl, probably not much older then you. She took the challenge, and yes I bet she was terrified but that didn't matter to her. She did it to save the ones she cared about, if no one acted soon then the whole village would be destroyed and everyone lost."

"But wait," I interrupted, "She just decided to fight the guy? Even the strongest man in the village couldn't beat him then what makes her think she can?"

"You didn't let me finish," Lurex laughed, "Unlike the others she actually thought this through, she was smart. She knew trying to save the village was a lost cause and would only get everyone killed. But she figured if she could distract the beast long enough then everyone could get away unharmed. It was a risk she was willing to take, for the people she loved. So she took a pair of pants, good running boots, her father's heavy coat, and a sword. She made sure to hide her hair and cover her face with the hood of the coat," Lurex started sketching a coat onto the figure she had drawn.

"She told only one other person of her plan, a friend of hers, to make sure everyone made it out. Then, without giving it a second thought, she confronted the man and took his challenge. He laughed that such a small person dared to fight him, for how could he loose?"

"'What's your name?' He asked in his booming voice," Lurex said in a deep tone. I laughed at her attempt to mimic voices.

"The girl replied with a smile, 'unknown'. The man just laughed," Lurex's voice deepened again, "'This should be interesting then. You'll die a man with no name.'"

She started adding boots to her drawing and a sword.

"They started fighting. The beast charged but the girl was able to dodge each move. while this was happening the village quickly evacuated to a nearby hill which was far enough away from the village but still had a good view on what was happening. They stood there astonished wondering who this mysterious warrior was. And watched in horror at how it all played out and realized that they couldn't do anything to help their brave hero."

"The girl was faster than the man, she was able to run circles around him and strike him in the leg between the chinks in his armor. He became enraged at this and swung his big fist knocking her to the ground. He pinned her with his foot and …. Plunged his sword in her chest!"

"She died!" I said surprised and a little offended. I reminded her of a girl who was stupid enough to fight a giant and died in the process. Great that made me feel confident.

"Yes, but she saved many lives. She figured it was better to lose one life then to lose them all. The rest of the village had burned down and the beast finally left but the people were unharmed. The villagers returned only to find ashes and in the center of it all was the warrior's body. The friend removed her hood and the people gasped when they saw their hero was a girl. The girl who had saved them. The girl who risked it all. "

"They buried her body on the hill top and rebuilt their village far away from the kingdom."

"But what does the flower have to do with it all?" I asked.

"Many visited her grave often, and they noticed these odd flowers growing all around. So they named it the Red Virtus, in honor of her and planted the flowers around the village," She finished her sketch and set it aside. Then she unclipped the flower from her hair again.

"The white in the middle stands for purity, how she was able to think of others instead of herself. The red means bravery and courage. And the black on the tips symbolize her death," She said and pointed to each color. Her fingers lightly traced the outline of a petal, "The petals symbolized the tears the people shed for her."

"What about the pearl and the spirals?"

"The spirals represent celebration in honor of her memory. The pearl is simply a cute decoration!" Lurex smiled.

"How does this remind you of me exactly?"

She gave me that warm smile again and said, "Because you care a great deal for your friends and family. The way you described them to me, it sounded like you'd do anything for them."

I nodded and smiled back, I would do anything for them. I wouldn't even think twice.

She patted my arm, "I think I have the right look for you. I'll send in your prep team and return for the finishing touches later," She waved and skipped out of the room in excitement.

Shortly after, my prep team arrived. I could easily tell that they were all from Capitol.

One was a thin woman with pale skin and teal hair, she wore heavy makeup and bright clothing, and her name was Athene. The other was an African American woman with beautiful long black hair that was pinned up in an interesting bun with little stars. She also had golden stars tattooed on the corner of one eye, her name was Maia. The last was a man with tan skin and blonde curly hair. He wore blue eyeliner with matching finger nails. His name was Andreas.

"Well this makes our jobs a little bit easier!" Maia clapped when she noticed that my legs and arms were already shaved, along with my eyebrows already done. After a very stressful dinner yesterday I had spent the rest of the evening scrubbing off all the dirty and grime on my body. I hadn't showered for two months straight and I looked like hobo.

"Shame," Athene frowned, looking a little disappointed that she didn't have to use the wax strips.

They had me bathe and wrap in a robe. After that they went to work on my hair, finger nails, and toe nails. I leaned back in my check and sighed, this was relaxing. It reminded me of many trips to the salon and spa with Athanasia. all though i wasn't as out there in my style as many capitol citizens I did like to be pampered. Lurex came in to make sure everything was going smoothly. She examined me and told them exactly how she wanted the hair and makeup done. She also brought in a bouquet of Red Virtus and placed them in a vase on my dresser.

They looked so beautiful in real life. The colors were so bright and vibrant. And they smelled wonderful too. I couldn't help but inhale its sweet scent.

Maia pinned my hair back in a simple tight bun. Andreas painted my nails to match the color of the flowers, starting off with white and melting into red and black. Athene applied make up to my face, giving me grey smoky eyes and red lips. Which normally I wouldn't approve of, unless it was a special occasion or something, and i wouldn't classify this as one. It was something Athanasia would wear. My heart ached just thinking of her.

Lurex came back just as the prep team was finishing up. She had a plastic slip slung over her shoulder and a huge grin on her face.

"You look wonderful! You did an amazing job," She praised the prep team.

"And just in time too. I had a long talk with Cosmo's stylist and we finally agreed on coordinating," She quickly unzipped the plastic slip and pulled out my Opening Ceremonies outfit.

"It's what I could whip up in such a short time. I hope its okay."

"You did that in just a few hours!" I asked and walked over to get a closer look. Lurex nodded and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Lets put it on you first, then you can see how it looks," Lurex said and asked Maia to help.

They quickly helped me slip into it. Andreas started fussing with my hair and makeup, trying to fix any imperfections. Lurex slapped his hands away and turned me towards a mirror.

"What do you think?" Lurex asked.

"It certainly is different. Very dark," Athene commented.

"It's mysterious!" Maia said.

"Yet it'll stick out. It's wonderful!" Andreas added.

I stared at myself in the mirror. The outfit Lurex had designed was done very professionally, clean lines, straight seams, no frays, especial in such a short amount of time. I hoped she did make it big after the games were over. She deserved to live her dream.

My outfit was a dress that almost went to my knees. The skirt was made out of grey and black tulle, and I think you know how I feel about tulle. The top hugged my body. Over that was a very detailed coat. It was made from a type of soft fuzzy black fabric. The sleeves went a little past my wrists and had beautiful embroidery around the cuffs and the edge of the hood. To complete the outfit I also had on a pair of new dark brown boots.

"I've already started sketching out your dress for the interviews! It's going to be gorgeous! But you'll have to wait, I want it to be a surprise," Lurex bounced with excitement.

"It's like the story," I said. The outfit looked a lot like the sketch she had done earlier of the girl from the story. The girl who risked it all.

"Yes, it is. I just made a few tweaks. You know, modernize it a bit," She smiled at her work and picked a few pieces of lint off my shoulder. "Now for the finishing touches."

She pulled the loose hood over my head and made sure it covered my face. Then she took one of the flowers from my dresser and stuck it in the collar.

"But you can barely see her face!" Athene complained.

"Exactly! This ensures that she'll stick out. People will remember her, they'll be dying to know who's under the hood," Lurex exampled. Athene rolled her eyes in frustration that her work would go to waste.

"That's smart," I smiled. I didn't like this whole situation I was in at all. But I didn't mind being the center of attention for a bit. And maybe, just maybe, this could help me later with getting sponsors.

Normally the tributes are sent to the Remake Center and then during the Opening Ceremonies the chariots take them up to the Training Center. But sense the rebellion the Remake Center was completely destroyed and was still being remade, pun intended. So instead the plan was to have the chariots take us down to the City Circle then back up to the Training Center.

"You look nice," I complement Cosmo on his outfit which was identical to mine. The only difference is he's wearing a pair of dark pants and a nice grey knit top.

"Thanks," he said, I noticed his hands were shaking. He seems just as scared as when I first met him.

I looked around the room at the other tributes getting ready and waiting by their chariots. The ceremonies were going to start soon. I search around looking desperately for my friends. Then I spotted Ajax by the far corner petting some of the horses. I couldn't control myself, my feet seemed to act on their own. I ran over to him and tackled him in the tight hug.

"Hey!" He struggled against me but I wouldn't let go. "Help!" He screamed. I remembered I still had my hood on so he must not recognize me.

"Ajax, claim down! It's me," I set him down and pulled off my hood.

"Hana!" He smiled and leaped back into my arms. I hugged him again and started kissing his cheek.

"Eww!" He complained but I didn't care.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened to you? Where's your brother?" I asked frantically running my hands through his hair and lifting his arms to make sure there wasn't a scratch on him.

"I'm fine," He made a disgusted face as he wiped red lip stick off his cheek and fixed his hair. I noticed he was dressed in a white tux that was covered in a complicated golden pattern.

His partner, a girl who looked a little younger then me. She was Asian and had long silky hair that went down to her waist. Her stylist had put her in a similar outfit like Ajax. I couldn't tell if it was a dress but it almost looked like a second skin on her. It was white and shimmered in the light with the same golden pattern. She also wore a crazy pair of heels, they looked like a three year old had glued diamonds and glitter all over them.

"Neo!" Ajax yelled and ripped away from me.

Neo walked into the room, follow by his prep team and stylist all still fussing over him. Neo was arguing with all of them and tried to wave them away. His stylist had decided to dress him in a type of leathery black unitard. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how ridiculous he looked.

He glanced up when he heard his name and quickly spotted Ajax running toward him. His face softened and he broke away from his prep team and ran to embrace his little brother. Ajax had the biggest smile on his face and Neo looked just as happy. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. They still had each other, they were still a family. I had nothing.

They started talking but I couldn't hear them. Ajax's smile faded but Neo quickly tried to reassure him, also trying his best to keep a smile on his face. Ajax looked down and sadly nodded.

"You sure your fine?" Neo asked as I got closer. Ajax nodded again and curled up in his big brothers arms.

"Is this it?" Ajax whispered.

Neo looked him in the eye and put on a brave face, "No, buddy it's not it. I promise you we'll be fine." I could see right through him, I knew he didn't feel confident about this. If Neo wasn't confident about something it meant that this was bad, real bad. I could see sadness in his eyes, I knew him well enough to tell when he was trying to hide something.

"Hey," I said awkwardly, feeling a little bad too for coming between the cute reunion.

"Hana? You look….different," Was all Neo said.

"Really? After all the crap I've been through and that's the first words you say to me?" I laugh.

"Ajax, why don't you go get a closer look at those horses?" Neo suggested to him.

"Okay," Ajax wandered off back toward his chariot.

I didn't wait any longer I basically tackled him in a hug like I had done to Ajax just moments ago. He didn't protest like his little brother did, just wrapped his arms around me.

"What happened to your lip?" I asked noticing it was split and there was a slight bruise on his cheek.

"Got in a fight."

"Neo! Fights amongst tributes are against the rules. You could get in deep trouble if_"

"It wasn't with another tribute! It was with one of those stupid guards," He glared at a group of them across the room.

"Still Neo, you shouldn't go around picking fights. Especially now, it's not safe."

"Safe? What does it matter if I'm in danger? As far as I'm concerned or anyone else for that matter I'm already dead," He said harshly.

"Don't say that," I looked away. I didn't want to think about him dying or Ajax.

He sighed and pulled me in his arms again, "Sorry okay? I'm just stressed."

I nodded and decided to change the topic, "Are you okay? How's your Mother?" They only had a Mom. Their Dad abandoned them after Ajax was born. Now they rarely ever saw him.

He shook his head and sadness returned to his eyes.

"She didn't make it?" I asked. He didn't have to tell me I was right. He just hung his head, his lips were press together so tight they were white.

"Don't talk about it with Ajax, he doesn't know yet."

"He doesn't know?"

"I told him just now she had been captured. He thinks she's in a cell somewhere in the president's mansion."

"You didn't tell him? He's gonna figure it out soon! What happens when they do family interviews, he'll know something's up."

"He's never seen a Hunger Games all the way through! He won't know the difference," He tried to explain.

"Neo, he needs to_"

"I know. I'll tell him I swear. Just not now, things are hard enough as it is," He pleaded with me.

"Okay," I sighed.

"What about your family?" Neo asked. I felt a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach at the mention of them. I was alone, well not now at least. Was I an orphan? Did my parents still exist?

Tears started swelling in my eyes, I didn't want to cry, especially not in front of Neo. He'd never seen me cry before and knowing him he'd probably make fun of me for it later. I buried my head in his chest and whispered, "No."

"None of them?"

I simply shook my head, "Lydia and Cleo are gone! There was an explosion, I tried to help! Then I lost my parents in the crowded and I haven't seen them sense_"

"I'm so sorry Hana," Neo held me and tried to calm me down. I didn't want sympathy right now. I wanted to forget everything, all the pain. I changed the subject again.

"What are you wearing?" I asked and pulled away to looked at his black leather unitard.

"I'm not quite sure. But wait, its gets worse," He slapped his chest and the suit lit up red. Not the whole thing just different lines that outlined his body and designs around the chest and arms. He made a painful face and winced, "It's bad," He didn't look comfortable at all. I started to laugh, seeing Neo embarrassed always seemed to cheer me up.

"Well looky here. The two love birds reunite," I looked up to find Damian Stanton standing in front of us with the most annoying smirk on his face.

"Shut up Damian," Neo tensed and went to stand in front of Damian.

"Or what Stone? What are you going to do?" Damian taunted.

Neo had a hard expression on his face. If there was one thing he hated more than his dead beat Dad, glitter, unicorns, losing, and being told what to do, it was Damian Stanton. I didn't blame him, the guy was a total jerk. He had electric blue hair, sharp features, athletic build, and he knew exactly how to get on everyone's nerves. They always got into fights at school.

"I can't wait to get into the arena, finally I can teach you a _real_ lesson."

"I wouldn't talk so fast, Stanton," Neo spat at him. They seemed to be sizing each other up, like animals did before they fought. Boys are weird like that. They were both nearly the same height, same build, Neo probably had a bigger temper though.

"I going to kill you, your brother, and your girlfriend," Damian cocked an eyebrow and looked at me with that annoying smirk.

Neo was not my boyfriend, let's just make that clear. We were close friends, and that was it. I mean I didn't think he had feelings like that for me, and if he did he was really good at hiding them. As for me, I wasn't quite sure how I felt.

"Don't you dare threaten my friend or my brother, got it?" Neo placed his hands on Damian's chest and shoved him back as hard as he could. Damian stumbled, caught himself and returned the favor.

"No, I don't think I do."

They started arguing, throwing threats at each other and pushing the other around. One of the rebel guards saw and quickly had them restrained.

"Break it up! Break it up! Back to your chariots, both of you!" The guard yelled. Neo gave one last hard stare while Damian smiled and reluctantly they went back to their carts.

"You too," The guard gestured to me and I quickly ran back to my chariot without hesitation.

The ceremonies were about to start, Lurex quickly fixed my skirt and readjusted my hood.

"Remember not to let them see your face; I want the element of surprise on our side! Smile and be confident out there, I know you'll do great, "She patted my cheek and smiled. Then she stepped out of the chariot.

Cosmo's stylist, Elisavet, whos hot pink hair was short and styled as a faux hawk and matching pink lips, was trying to give him a pep talk, "You don't have to be nervous out there, just forget your worries. I want the crowd to think you're a strong, brave, and a confident young man. Which I know you are."

"But what if I'm not?" Cosmo said barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Well they don't know that, do they?" She winked, "Now go out there and prove yourself wrong."

Cosmo pulled his hood on, making sure it covered his face. He gave Elisavet his best smile, which was more of a small grin, and the ceremonies began. Music blasted loudly outside and the crowd roared. Our chariot was the sixth to leave.

I felt like I might fall right out of the cart as it moved along the street. I saw myself on screen. The camera tried zooming in several times but couldn't get a clear shot of our faces. The only part of my face that you could see was my bright red lips. I smiled for the camera and the crowd. But it was hard.

It was hard because the crowd was yelling at us, some cheered for us but among them I could hear others booing and saying hateful things. I tried my best not to listen to them, I tried to block them out and only hear the music. I looked over at Cosmo and noticed his hands were shaking again.

I placed a hand on his shoulder in hopes of comforting him a bit, also to keep me from falling out.

The chariots rounded over to the President's mansion and halted in a line. I looked down the row of chariots and noticed Ajax just one over. He was so short only his shoulder and head were visible. This wasn't right, none of it! He was only seven! Seven, and they were putting him through this! I looked more and saw Damian giving me that smirk, I wanted to run over and smack that grin right off his face. Neo caught his eye and returned the gesture by flipping the bird, normally I'd punch him for that but right now wasn't the best time.

The new leader of Panem, the one the rebels voted after both Snow and Coin had been killed, President Paylor stood on the balcony. She gives a speech about how well their new nation is being rebuilt. But I don't hear her words all I see is visions. Reliving that horrible day and staring at the spot where I last saw my little brother and sister.

I do notice something odd behind her eyes. Disappointment? Sadness? Or disapproval? I can't tell what it was but she didn't look pleased as she finishes talking and the chariots move back toward the Training Center.

Things go smoothly, we're almost to the doors when I hear screams and then something hits the tributes behind me. I look and see a few people throwing fruit at them. The guards quickly hurry the chariots along, but not fast enough. Fruit hits our cart and I feel something hit and start ozzing down my back. All the tributes are rushed inside on the doors slam shut.

My chariot wasn't hit as bad, just a tomato here and a melon there, also the tomato that hit me in back ruining the outfit Lurex worked so hard on. I look to find Damian's cart got hit the worst, he's covered in produce and he doesn't look happy. This of course makes me smile.

"That's a nice look on you Stanton," Neo chuckles. Damian Glares back but keeps heading for the elevators.

"Look Hana!" Ajax runs up to me, his cart must have gotten it bad too because his white suit is pink and red and he's holding part of a water melon. But he's smiling and laughing that I can't help but join in.

"Food fight!" He says and starts picking at the melon. I just stared at him, he was so young and innocent. He didn't deserve a fate like this. If anyone deserved to win this thing it was Ajax.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

I woke up the next morning startled to find Lurex standing at the foot of my bed.

"What's going on?" I groaned and pulled the sheets up over my head.

"Everyone is buzzing about you!" Lurex cheered and smiled ear to ear. "I knew the whole hiding your face thing was a long shot. But I figured not many people would pay much attention or even bother to watch the first part of the games, sense it's not a requirement anymore and I was right! Although a few people have and where able to tell who was under the hood, but it's a small number. The great majority is still clueless! I can't wait for interviews!"

"Don't they make pamphlets with all the tributes names that they hand out?" I asked. I know because Athanasia has dragged me to a few Opening Ceremonies before.

"They didn't bother this year."

I rubbed my temples and sat up. My eyes felt heavy from lack of sleep. I had another nightmare. It was different this time, instead of reliving the rebellion like it had been for so long, it was about the games.

I was standing in the arena next to the Cornucopia. In the distance I heard Ajax scream, I tried to call to him, but no sound came out. He screamed again and I tried to run to him but my legs wouldn't move. He kept screaming and I frantically tried to help but my body just wasn't in my control.

I looked to the left of me and saw Neo, his clothes covered in blood and dirt, a sword in his hand, bruises on his face, and fear in his eyes. I tried to tell him Ajax was in trouble but it was no use. Damian appeared out of the thick woods in front of me and instantly they began to fight. All I could do was watch as their swords collided in an effort to kill one another.

Neo swung but Damian ducked and rolled behind him. As Neo snapped around, Damian struck him right in the stomach. He smiled and pulled his sword out and I cringed at the sound of the sword leaving his chest. He stumbled backward then fell to the ground, a small pool of blood around him. I wanted to scream, to run, but nothing worked.

Damian noticed me and started in my direction. I struggled against invisible chains holding me in place. I started to panic. He stood in front of me. I looked up at his face. He was wearing that same smirk that I hated so much. The last thing I saw was him swinging the blade of his sword right for me.

And then I woke up and couldn't seem to go back to bed again.

"You alright? You look pale," Lurex asked me. I shook my head and asked what time it was.

"Its time to get up," She said and helped me out of bed. "I thought I'd bring you some clean clothes for training today."She handed me a pair of dark brown pants and a crisp white top.

"Training?" I asked confused.

"Yes, so you can learn how to handle yourself out in the arena," She clarified, "Now go shower," She shoved me towards the bathroom and shut the door. I undressed and stood under the warm water. Not really focusing on cleaning myself, but deep in thought.

I didn't know the first thing about fighting. I didn't even know how to work a real weapon. Closet I've gotten was play fighting with a wooden sword. This wasn't going to turn out well.

Images of my dream popped back in my head, Neo lying on the ground, blood running from the wound in his chest, Ajax screaming for help in the distance. I had to try, not for me but for my friends. Neo could certainly handle himself in the arena, there was no doubt, but Ajax was so little. He couldn't defend himself well. I'd try; try my hardest to keep him safe whatever the cost.

I turned off the water, dried my hair and got dressed. Lurex was still in the room waiting for me. I didn't think much of it; I actually really enjoyed her company. She approved of my outfit and offered to do my hair for me. I sat in front of the mirror and she started brushing through it.

"I think I finally have a goal in mind. Something to focus on when I'm in the arena," I told her.

"Oh really? What is it?" She didn't seem too interested in what I was saying. Just hummed quietly to herself.

"To keep Ajax alive, if anyone deserves to live it's him."

"Ajax?" She stopped humming and scrunched up her face like she was trying to remember something, "You mentioned him earlier. Was he that boy I saw you hugging yesterday before the ceremonies? He's cute," She said and wiggled her eyebrows at me.

I shook my head and laughed, "No, that was Neo. Ajax is his little brother, the youngest one in the games."

"The seven year old? That is young. I can't believe they made him be in this! Even that other little girl who was ten, it's too young," Lurex sighed.

"Lystra craft, I know her. But I agree it isn't right."

"If I could end this I would. But then again I'm not in charge."

"The president last night, she looked….I don't know she almost looked sad about this," I said, remembering perfectly that odd expression on her face and hidden deep in her eyes.

"She's doesn't agree with this," Lurex admitted.

"Then why doesn't she stop it!" I nearly screamed.

"Well it's not like everything she wants can be done at her command. There are others who help agree on and decide everything. From what I hear she was out voted."

"Well when did they decide this?"

"When Capitol was finally overthrown. It was Coins idea. I think Paylor wanted to end it but the votes where against it."

"That's doesn't seem fair," I pouted.

"Its not, but I wouldn't know the first thing about law," She shrugged, "There, all done!"

She had French braided the front part of my hair so it was like a crown around my head. Then she had pulled the rest back into a pony tail. She smiled proudly and I thanked her and hurried off down to the dining hall.

Haymitch and Cosmo were already seated. I took the empty seat and a waiter came by and gave me a plate full of food. I used my fork to cut the corner off of my waffle, spilling a drop of syrup on my nice shirt in the process.

"You two made a good impression last night," Haymitch said. "The crowd didn't seem too happy though." Although the Opening Ceremonies turned into an all out food fight it could have been worse.

I just shrugged and continued to stuff my face with fruit, my prep team thought I was getting a little too skinny. A few months in a dark cell with food that looks like it's already been eaten can do that to you. Cosmo ate quietly and focused only on his food. Haymitch picked at his meal and drank.

"So what exactly is your purpose?" I asked Haymitch, food still in my mouth, "I mean, you're supposed to mentor us but all you ever do is sit there and drink."

"I'm retired from this kid," Was his answer.

"Retired?" I swallowed hard, "Can't you at least give us some advice or maybe even a tip?"

"Stay alive," He said and took a bite of egg.

"You said that already!" I whined. He looked up at me for a second then went back to his meal. I leaned back in my chair, crossed my arms, and pouted.

"Your last tributes survived the Hunger Games. So either you helped them or they were smart enough to make it without you. But then that's where I'm at a disadvantage, I don't know much about the games. I could use a good mentor."

"No one likes a whiner. Besides I'm_"

"Retired, I know," I finished for him. "But why can't you spare a few minutes for us?"

"They actually had potential so I put my faith in them."

"Can't you put your faith in us too?" I asked. He looked at Cosmo, whose hands were shaking again. Something I noticed he did whenever he was nervous. Then he looked me over and laughed.

"It's not funny," I protested.

"It is to me," He chuckled. That was it, I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't work with this…this… drunk!

"Look Mister!" I slammed my fork hard on the tabletop, a little harder than I thought. The tips were actually stuck in the wood and I couldn't seem to get it back out. But I ignore that and went back to yelling madly at our pathetic excuse of a mentor.

"Our lives depend on whatever stupid piece of advice you can give us! I honestly don't care for my life at this point. But there is a little boy involved in this! He's seven and my friend! I'm willing to protect him whatever the cost, but you won't help me! And if you're just going to sit here and waste yourself away then fine, but at least give me something! Help me help him!" I screamed.

He stared at me dumbfounded for a minute. Cosmo looked up for the first time sense I sat down and was staring at me a bit unsure. Haymitch looked like he was studying me, deep in thought, like he was taking in every detail of my face. He did the same for Cosmo, which I could tell made him feel uncomfortable. Then he asked me directly, "Can you fight?" He gestured to the stuck fork.

"Not really but_" I admitted reluctantly and tried to pull the fork free from the table again.

"Can you use a sword?"

"A little bit but not really."

"Can you throw a spear? Knives? Use a bow and arrow?" He was asking me questions left and right.

"No…but_"

"Can you use any kind of weapon? At all?" He cut me off again.

"I can learn," I answered and sank deeply in my chair. I felt a little stupid, I had just given that big speech when I had nothing to offer in return. I had to prove that I could do this. I had to watch what I said or he might not help.

He turned toward Cosmo, "What about you? Can you do anything?"

Cosmo just lowered his head without speaking. Haymitch rubbed his chin and nodded, "I'll take that as a no then."

He looked back at me and sighed, "You have no potential. You'll have to do better than that."

I racked my brain for anything I might know or have. Come on, anything I had! I glanced at Cosmo for help, but of course he wasn't going to speak up.

"No? Then I guess that's it," Haymitch stood up and headed for the door, "Good luck with training, you're going to need it."

"Wait!" I said, "I'm determined! I can learn fast!" I called after him but he was already making his way down the hall.

I looked around the room for anything, any idea. This was my last chance. And then I found it. In front of me sat a half drunken bottle of wine. I grabbed it and quickly run out into the hall.

"Hey!" I yelled at him. Then I threw the bottle as hard as I could. I wasn't aiming for anything in particular I just wanted to get his attention. The bottle soared down the hall and hit the wall right next to him. The glass shattered and went everywhere while the little wine that was left trickled down the wall.

He whipped around to face me. Two Guards came up behind me and grabbed hold of both my arms. Haymitch raised his hand to stop them. They let me go but didn't leave my side.

"I told you to wait," I said firmly. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

He just stared at me for what felt like forever. No expression on his face and I was beginning to feel self conscious. Why did he always do that? He rubbed his temples like he was debating whether to say something. Then slowly the corner of his mouth rose and he gave a small chuckle.

"What?" I asked frustrated. Maybe he was too drank to know what was even going on.

"I can't believe I'm doing this but I'm scared you might smash all the wine bottles so…" He joked and his expression became serious again.

"I want you to try everything they have during training. Talk to the trainers, especially the ones who have won past Games. The old trainers have…. disappeared sense the rebellion so they got whoever was available. Talk to other tributes too; find out what they know about anything that might help you. And once you find something your good at, anything in the slightest, keep at it. We'll talk about how it went later today," I was shocked that he even answered.

"Wait, y-you're going to help me?" I asked surprised.

"Lets see how training goes and then I'll decide. Tell that Cosmo kid that same thing, if he'll even listen," Haymitch said to me, then turned on his heels and headed back to his room. He waved his hand and the two guards gripped my arms again and took me back to the dining room.

After breakfast a guard escorted Cosmo and me to the actual training rooms. They were located under the building and the elevator took us down in little time. The doors opened with a cheery ding and I gaped at all the equipment and the size of the gymnasium.

I'm not quite sure how it all works but someone pinned a piece of cloth on my back. I couldn't see what it said but I looked at the one of Cosmo's back, Capitols (6), and guess mines probably the same.

Normally the tributes are separated by the district of which they came from. But sense this year mostly everyone is from Capitol, I'm guessing they must have assigned one to all of us. Our rooms were located on the sixth floor. We were sixth in the parade line during the opening ceremonies. And now we have a 6 pinned to our back, I'm guessing we're district 6.

I noticed all the other tributes were standing in a circle around a tall woman. I heard the elevator open behind me and felt someone bump into me. I stumbled forward but caught myself.

"Hey Pierce," Damian smirked at me and joined the others in the circle. My hands clench at my side and I glare at the back of his head. I hate that guy.

I quickly joined the circle as well and stood next to Cosmo. The woman was reading down a list of all the centers and equipment they have. I don't pay much attention to her; instead I looked around and saw many swords, spears, knives and other weapons I don't know the names of. It's all so intimidating and overwhelming that I just don't think I can take it. The woman finishes reading and everyone heads off towards a station. I stood there like an idiot just looking around.

Haymitch said to try everything and get advice from the trainers and tributes themselves. I find Cosmo trying to tie knots, his hands weren't shaking anymore and he's actually having a conversation with the trainer. I wonder what got him out of his shell.

Neo is at the sword station, he's trying to swing two swords around his head but the trainer stopped him before he cuts off a limb. Damian's staring at me as he throws a spear at a dummies head and it goes right through. I gulped and quickly looked away. Ajax is by himself and has somehow managed to get mud all over his clothes. Where'd he even get mud?

"Ajax, what are you doing?" I asked and decide to join him.

"Painting!" He laughs and dips his finger into a container of mud. "Just like you." He draws a smiley face on his hand and shows me.

"You're too old to get excited over mud," I say, "And I don't think your stylist will be too happy about this."

"Whatever," He laughs and dipped his fingers into some berry juice.

"The point of this station is to learn camouflage, not to finger paint" I hear the trainer laugh at Ajax the human canvas. I look up at him and freeze, Athanasia would be so jealous.

I didn't quite understand what Haymitch meant when he told me to question the trainers who had won past games, now I did. Peeta Mellark was smiling down at me and he was also the trainer for the camouflage station. It made sense; he had spent most of the games hiding in plain sight covered in mud.

"You…your," I stuttered. I'm not quite sure how I felt about him.

On one hand he's partly responsible for the rebellion. The images and events of that will never leave my head, the pain will always be there. If it weren't for him and Katniss this might not have ever happened. I could have been at home right now playing with the kids as Mom and Dad ran the shop. Everything would be how it was, perfect and normal.

On the other hand, he was just a kid, just like me. Probably with a family, friends, and a real life. I've heard what the Capitol did to him, tortured him until he was practically insane. Bombed his home. And took away all freedom anyone in the districts had. They were just trying to protect themselves, all the rebels. Just trying to live and survive, just like I was now.

"Your Peeta," I finally managed to get out, blushing out of embarrassment.

"Last time I checked, yeah," He joked.

A million questions ran through my head. What was it like? How did you survive the games? How did you get past the pain? What's something I should worry about? But instead of asking those I said, "How did you deal with him?" I moved and sat by him.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Deal with who?"

"I'm sorry. Haymitch, I meant how did you deal with Haymitch? I know he was your mentor, and now he's mine and he's just got me so….." I gritted my teeth and pretended like I was strangling something.

He laughed and said, "Well I don't know if anyone can deal with Haymitch, he can be a handful but he knows what he's talking about."

"I wouldn't know he's barely cooperating." I said frustrated and then realized that I was being rude. "Oh! Sorry! Here I am babbling on and on," I gave a shy grin, "I'm Aradhana by the way, but everyone calls me Hana," I held out my hand.

He nodded and shook my hand in return. After that I explained the one bit of advice that Haymitch did give me. Peeta gladly answered all of my questions "I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll answer whatever you want to know."

I continued to ask and he answered and even gave me a few tips, stuff like what kinda of berries you should avoid eating or finding a good place to lay low and out of sight, even trying to get allies.

I never thought about getting allies. Well I knew for sure Ajax was on my team, and Neo was sure to follow. But what about Cosmo? Would he even care or be any good? Or would he just slow us down? I glanced at him, he was now learning how to tie a snare. The trainer looked very pleased with him. I'd have to give this more thought.

"Anything else you'd like to know?" Peeta asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"I should finish checking out the rest of the stations. I need to find something that I'm at least somewhat good at," I shrugged. "I've never actually fought before, and this is all just so overwhelming…" I looked around and hugged my arms.

"It is, isn't it?" He sounded truly sad, "I wish they'd just drop this. Just leave good enough alone. I mean these stupid games are what started it all, I just want to be done with it," I stared at him in surprised. "I voted against this you know. I wouldn't wish this upon anyone, not even my worst enemy."

I looked at his face, in his eyes. My mother said I was always good at seeing the truth in someone's eyes. I guess that's why it was easy for me to tell when Neo was lying, when Cleo was really afraid, or when my mom said "I'm fine," She really meant everything was wrong. And now I looked in Peeta's eyes and all I saw was sadness and anger. He was speaking the truth.

"Then why did you agree to help with training, if you were so against this?" I asked.

"Because Katniss agreed to it. And I figured I might as well do my best to help the new tributes. I didn't want to watch the games but I really have no choice sense they've also made me be a mentor."

"A mentor? For who?" I wondered curiously.

"Ajax and Flutter," He said and pointed at Ajax, who had run off to join his brother at another station. Then pointing at his partner, Flutter, whose long black silky hair was pulled back into a sleek pony tail. I had to keep from laughing, names like that where more common in the districts. But I'd rather have her instead on anyone else as Ajax's partner. I didn't really know her but from afar I glimpsed a few moments of them together and she really treated him sweet, and Peeta as his mentor also helped settle my nerves as well.

I thanked him for his help and decided I needed to explore more stations. I caught up with Neo and Ajax, they were standing by a rack of many impressive and terrifying weapons.

Neo regarded me with a smile then turned back to his brother, "Need some help buddy?"

"N-no," Ajax's voice trembled as he struggled to pick up an ax; its blade was twice the size as his own head. He gave one great tug and the ax slowly started leaning forward. Ajax had quickly backed away just as it gained speed and toppled forward with a loud _clang!_ The blade embed itself in the plastic mat that covered the floor of the training area.

Ajax sighed but didn't give up, instead he gripped the handle with a determined look in his eyes and started pulling again. His knuckles turned white from the strain.

"How about this one instead? It's more your size," Neo handed him a small sword, more of a dagger. Its blade dull silver, about ten inches in length and leather wrapped around the hilt. He gave Neo one pleading look and glanced at the ax. Neo didn't falter, he just shook his head and yanked the ax free from the floor and returned it to the rack.

"Fine," Ajax groaned and headed toward a torn and tattered dummy.

Once Ajax was out of ear shot I pulled Neo aside, wanting to talk to him in private. "What is it?" He asked.

"Well I've been thinking it over and well…"

"Well what?"

"I was thinking maybe we should be allies. You, me, and Ajax of course."

He looked at me for a second a little startled, and raised an eyebrow. "You don't like it?" I asked feeling torn.

"No, I'm just surprised that you even had to ask," He laughed. "I just assumed we already were."

I smiled in relief, my nerves settling down. He turned to head back to his brother.

"Oh, and one more thing," I said and grabbed his arm to stop him, quickly moving to stand in front of him.

"It's just that, Ajax is just so young. And I just don't think any of this is fair, for him or anyone. But if anyone deserves to win this thing, I think it should be him. I just want you to know that he's my priority," I stared at Ajax as I said this. Watching him swing his sword at the dummy and kicking it as hard as he could. It reminded me of when him and Cleo use to play fight in front of the big tree while me and Neo talked, and Lydia tried her best to get Athanasia to play dolls with her. I missed the old times.

"He's mine too," Neo said, bringing me back to reality.

I spent the rest of the time trying my hardest to find anything I was good at. Of course Ajax and Neo followed me around and commented on everything I did. But I tried my best to get them out of my head and focus on what I was doing. At the moment I was trying to shoot an arrow at a target a few feet away.

"Just relax," Neo said, "Breathe in and out slowly. Find your happy place," He was standing behind me. So close that I could feel him breath down my neck.

"That would be easier if you would give me some space," I elbowed him in the stomach while testing my bowstring just to prove my point. He held his hands up in surrender and backed away.

I readjusted my arrow and pulled back the string just like the trainer had showed me. She stood on the side lines watching me closely. I didn't want to slip up in front of her, especially sense archery was her specialty, I would feel plain stupid if I did.

"Make sure you're in the right stance," Neo said. I shuddered trying to keep my temper at bay. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him smiling, clearly amused by this.

"He's right actually," Katniss said and came over to assist me, "Your feet need to be shoulder length apart, pointing toward the target, like this," She spread her feet out and moved into the correct stance. I moved my feet to copy her actions.

I nodded, thinking I finally got it and was ready to try. I took deep a breath and focused on the center of the target. I was just about to let the arrow fly when, "No pressure Hana. No pressure."

I lowered my bow and pivoted around on my heel, "Neo if you open your mouth again I swear I'll use you for target practice instead!"

"Fights among tributes are against the rules, remember?" He grinned, twisting my own words against me. "Besides I'm just trying to help. You listen to the trainer but not me?" He gestured to Katniss in the corner. A mixture of hurt and amusement on his face.

"That's because she actually knows what she's talking about. You're just trying to get on my nerves."

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood that's all," He shrugged.

"Just be quiet, please?" I pleaded. Neo was a good friend and all but he really could get on my nerves if he really wanted too. Normally I wouldn't think much of it and return with a witty comeback just playing along, it was all fun and games between us .I knew he was just teasing. But today I just wasn't in the mood for joking around. This was serious.

He pretended like he was locking his mouth with an invisible key, then crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. The same amused look still on his face. Ajax stood next to him giggling the whole time.

I turned back around to face the target. I closed my eyes trying to calm down and clear my mind again. Then slowly, just like Katniss had showed me, I notched the arrow. Then raised the bow and in one fluid motion using three fingers to pull the nock and bowstring back until it was positioned with my jaw. I quickly looked down to make sure my feet were spread out correctly then returned my gaze back at the target. When I was sure my aiming was right I relaxed my hand holding the bowstring back, releasing the arrow.

It went sailing up over the target and into the wall behind it.

"A little high there," Neo commented.

"Neo," I said in a warning tone.

"Yeah, it was way off," Ajax agreed.

"I just wasn't concentrating that time," I said and grabbed a second arrow from a bucket that sat next to me. I got in position and repeated the steps the trainer had taught me. I aimed again, this time a little lower, and then relaxed my hand to release the arrow. But this time instead of flying across the room and hitting the target, it dived towards the floor and landed about three feet away from me.

"I guess you weren't concentrating that time either," Neo chuckled. I scowled at him and felt heat rise in my cheeks, blushing.

I felt like yanking my hair out and screaming at the top of my lungs in frustration. Nothing, and I mean nothing I tried today was working right. I just couldn't seem to find anything I was good at. I felt like hiding in the corner and crying because of it. I just wasn't built to be a warrior.

Neo must have seen the distressed look on my face and his whole attitude softened as he came over to comfort me, "Hey, it's okay Hana. I was just joking earlier."

I shook my head, "It's not that."

"Then what, training? It's just the first day, Hana. No one's perfect," Easy for him to say. He had already found tons of things he was good at, like sword fighting, throwing spears and even favored the trident. He was stronger than me, probably faster too. Neo was always very competitive, in school he tried out for all the sports, always praised by the athletics teacher. Most the time I think he just did it too show off in fronts of girls or have a good excuse to go up against Damian who was also competitive in almost everything he did. Neo even wanted to become a peacekeeper when he was younger, but his mother disapproved, said it wasn't appropriate for a capitol citizen.

"You don't get it," I said, "If I don't find something Haymitch isn't going to help me. And I'll only slow us down in the arena, I probably won't last long anyway. And Ajax needs all the protection he can get," A lump formed in my throat and the back of my eyes stung from trying to hold back tears. I wasn't going to cry. This was nothing to cry about!

"I think you need to calm down, you've been so stressed this whole time. You'll work yourself to death before the others get a hold on you."

"Aren't you stressed?"

"Yes," He admitted, "But I'm trying to make it seem like no big deal, you know for_" He jerked his head toward Ajax who was being instructed by Katniss on how to hold the bow correctly.

"It's just, I don't want the same thing to happen to him like…"

"Lydia and Cleo," Neo finished for me. I nodded but didn't want to talk about it any further. I put the bow back where I had found it and picked up the arrow I had shot last and returned it back to the bucket.

"It wasn't your fault," Neo whispered in my ear from behind me, startling me and making my heart jump.

"I should have stayed with them. I should have_"

"There was nothing you could have done," Neo tried reassuring me but it wasn't working, "The explosion at the president's mansion wasn't your fault. That was a capitol air craft, yes, but it was their fault, not yours."

"That wasn't capitols fault either," Katniss joined in, Neo and I looked at her in shock.

"What do you mean? How would you even know?" I asked.

"Because I was there when it happened," Images flashed in my head of that day. The first explosion going off and me running toward it along with rebel medics. Spotting another girl just ahead of me, a little too close when the second explosion happened. I could see evidence of that day on her. Pieces of skin patches on her arms and up her neck that didn't seem like they fit right.

"That was a capitol air craft, but under rebel orders," There was something in the way she said that, like it was the worst betrayal or the worst pain you could ever imagine.

"So it was the rebels fault," Feeling hollow inside as I said that. So it was their fault, their fault! I felt so confused and overwhelmed at once I just couldn't think straight. So many thoughts and emotions ran through me. But why was I even surprised? After everything they've done. But I felt just as bad for everything we've done…. So who was I to blame for this?

"Hana?" Ajax broke through the silence. He was holding an arrow in his hand, his face sad and a little confused. I realized he still didn't know so much, about his mother or his best friend.

"Ajax maybe you should…" Neo cut in, realizing that he must have heard us all talking but didn't know how much he heard.

"No," he said firmly shaking his head.

"Ajax honey, Cleo and Lydia_" I said trying to explain everything.

"I'm not in the mood to hear it right now," He said, his voice shaking a bit. Stepping back from me looking as if I'd just said the world was ending. For him it probably was. He did everything with Cleo, they were like brothers.

"Okay."

"But I do have an idea," He added "Want to hear it?"

"Sure honey, what is it?" I said feeling relived for a change of subject. His face brightened up slightly.

"What if you used the arrows like they were big darts," He suggested holding the arrow out to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're really good at throwing darts, these are sort of the same just a bit bigger."

I was good at darts, but I didn't know how that knowledge would help. At the shop we use to have a red and white target hanging on the wall that never sold. I use to watch Dad throw darts at it when he got bored, sometimes we'd even make it into a challenge to see who could throw better. At first I sucked, badly. But as time went on I started doing it every day. Especially when I was left in charge of the cash register, I got pretty good.

I had a good view of the target from where I sat behind the counter and it was the perfect throwing distance. I'd spend most of my time throwing them at the target and with more practice I got better. But after awhile I started losing interest, I only really did it too show off or an easy way to win bet money from my friends before they realized just how good I was.

"I can't just go around throwing arrows at people, I'll look silly," I said imagining me hiding in the tree bombarding a group of tributes with arrows.

"Maybe you could use a spear instead," Neo had gone over to one the many racks of weapons, grabbed a spear and handed it to me.

"I'm not good with throwing spears," I said skeptically but took it from him anyway. It felt heavy in my hands, almost foreign.

"Its like what Ajax said, just think of it as a really big dart," Neo suggest and moved out of my way so I could face the target.

I raised the spear holding it in one hand and again tried my best to aim for the center of the target. It didn't balance well in my hands and just didn't feel right period. But I throw it as hard as I could, watching it soar but flying over the target and clattering to the floor, I didn't even throw it hard enough to stick in the wall.

"I don't think this is going to work," I said disappointed, "But it was a good thought."

"Wait!" Ajax called from across the room over at the rack. He came running back with a roll of leather in his hands, "What about these?"

He kneeled on the ground, set the leather down and unrolled it to show off a large array of knives. Many of they looked old and well used, others looking brand new. Some had wider blades, maybe for hunting and others where needle thin.

"These might work," I said kneeling down next to him and running my fingers lightly over them. I'd never tried throwing knives before but these looked like the right size and would probably be easier for me to throw.

I picked one out, a thicker blade that had nicks in it and was probably five inches in length. This one felt good in my hands, not to heavy but still had some weight to it. I stood up and carefully aimed at the target. I raised the knife holding it by the tip of its shape blade and threw it.

It cut through the air in somersaults toward the target. I gritted my teeth watching it go, then _thunk_! It hit the target. It actually hit the target! I jumped up and down in joy squealing and waving my hands in the air. A few other tributes and trainers were giving me odd looks but I didn't care. I ran over to retrieve the knife, it had hit just above the bulls eye, just centimeters away from it.

"I think you just found something your good at," Neo smiled at me. And I couldn't help but smile back.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

"How was training?" Haymitch asked when he arrived at dinner that day fifteen minutes late. He picked up a plate from the buffet table and served himself. When he was done he went over to a metal bucket filled with ice that usually held bottles of wine to keep them cool but today it was empty. He looked at the bucket puzzled, and then started clawing through the ice as if a bottle might be hiding from him. When he realized that there was absolutely no liquor in there he started looking around the table as if he missed something.

"Training was great actually," I folded my arms and leaned back in my chair. He didn't seem to hear me or at least didn't acknowledge that he did. Instead he just continued wildly searching the table. "I asked a lot of questions just like you told me too. I got a lot of helpful tips, especially one stating that it's best to keep you sober."

Haymitch stopped what he was doing and looked up at me, "Sober?" His face darkened in color and he said the word like it was a harmful disease that he might die from. Lurex tried her best to stifle a laugh. Lurex and Elisasvet had decided to join us for dinner, which I was glad for. Haymitch strode over to the table and sat down, pushing his plate aside and leaning forward to rest his elbow on the table and chin in his hand.

"I made sure to inform the staff not to serve anymore alcoholic beverages to this floor," I added and returned his glare.

"And tell me, who exactly told you this?" His fingers started drumming along the table impatiently.

"Both of your old tributes suggested it."

He scowled, "I'm an adult, and I can do what pleases me."

"You don't act like one," I replied. Which earned me an annoyed grunt from him. "Maybe if you decide to help us I'll give you what you want most right now," I reached under my chair and carefully lifted a glass full of white liquor. A few drops of it spilled of the floor and Haymitch's eyes lit up at the sight of the glass in my hands.

"I don't appreciate being blackmailed."

Cosmo, Lurex, and Elisavet were silent during this, they all stared as Haymitch and I argued back and forth. "I wouldn't call it that, it's more of a simple trade. If you give me what I want, I'll give you what you want," My fingers lightly tracing the rim of the glass. "Or I could just drink it if you aren't up for it," I said but regretted it almost immediately. I'd never had a drink before and I wasn't going to start now. But if he really did want the glass that badly he'd stop me before I could actually get it down. Slowly I lifted the glass to my lips.

"Fine, you win," He held his hand out for the cup and I gladly passed it to him. A few drops how managed to make it down my throat, which burned and I struggled to keep a straight face. I don't know how he managed to drink that stuff by the gallon.

He scowled but took a long swig from the glass, draining half of it. Then he set it down and went to his food, angrily cutting into a piece of meat. He wasn't happy with me, but then again was he ever? Sense I met him he did nothing but glare at me.

"What about the other stuff I told you to do?" He finally said after a long pause.

"I'm good at throwing knives!" I explained, I couldn't hide my excitement for long. And why I was happy I had finally found a way to possibly hurt people, I don't know. It wasn't something to be happy about, but for some reason it gave me a little hope that I wasn't useless after all and I could defend myself and Ajax if the moment came up.

"And I can use a sword if it's absolutely necessary. I'm not great but I can at least block a few hits," I continued, "And from what I observed, Cosmo is pretty good with snares and traps," I gave him a sideways glance and smiled.

"The trainer was pretty impressed," Cosmo said shyly.

"I'm proud of you Cosmo!" Elisavet beamed at him, which only seemed to make him blush.

"More than I expected from both of you," Haymitch still was mad but he looked a little surprised by the progress we had made. "But it's only the first day. You two still have more training to undergo and then private sessions."

"But they're doing so well already!" Lurex also sounded proud of us.

"You two," He gestured to both the stylists, "Just got into this business, I've been doing it for years. They're barely scratching the surface of well at this point."

"Don't be so hard on them, this all must still be a shock," Lurex tried to protest.

"Just because they seem good now doesn't mean they'll be the same in the arena," Haymitch's voice had a strong tone of finality, Lurex didn't protest any further. Instead she pouted and went back to eating.

"There's still other things you need to consider like strategies for the arena, what to show for the Gamemakers, Sponsors, allies_"

"I got us some allies," Cosmo interrupted at the same time I was about to open my mouth and say the same. I was a little shocked that he spoke up so quickly and he looked proud at what he accomplished.

"Oh really?" Haymitch sounded skeptical, "Who?"

"Damian Stanton," He said.

My stomach tightened up and I thought I might be sick. The nightmare of last night started to replay in my head. Ajax screaming in the distance, Neo lying dead in a pool of his own blood, me struggling against invisible forces holding me down, then Damian coming to finish me off. This couldn't be happening.

"Damian Stanton," Haymitch echoed and scratched his chin trying to remember something. "Blue haired boy, right? And he wants you as an ally?" Haymitch asked sounding a little impressed, Cosmo nodded.

"There are others too, with him," Cosmo added and began saying the names of a few others who had joined the alliance with him. I recognized some but my mind was on others things. Panic rose in my chest, it felt like I might run out of air. Everyone else was talking about the games and considering Damian as a good ally.

"NO!" I cried so loud everyone else fell silent.

"What's wrong?" Elisavet asked from across the table.

"You can't have Damian as an ally."

"Why is that?" Haymitch asked annoyed, "There's very few Tributes I've seen from Capitol that actually look like they stand a chance, he seems like_"

"He's a jerk!" I blurted out, "He hates my guts! He would love nothing more than to kill me himself with his own bare hands!" I turned to Cosmo, "He's just using you, Cosmo, don't trust him. I know him, he'll slaughter us in our sleep the first chance he gets."

"Maybe you should decline the offer," Lurex said after seeing how worked up I was.

"No! This year is different but something's never change. In this case Damian and his group are the Careers. I feel there's a better chance of survival if I hang with them, the Careers always last the longest," Cosmo protested.

"But Cosmo," I pleaded, "what will happen when it's just the Careers? He's going to kill you the second he_"

"Not if I get him first!" Cosmo cut me off. His voice shook and fear was written all over his face and hidden deep in his brown eyes. His hands were clenched into fists under the table, but I could see them shake slightly. He was scared, terrified, and his thought this was his only chance.

"We seem to be at a disagreement here," Haymitch looked amused.

"I've also got allies," I said directing my words to Cosmo that maybe he might change his mind "Their Neo and Ajax stone."

"Ajax, the seven year old?" Haymitch asked.

"Of course, I'll do whatever it takes to protect him."

"And Neo? Him I can see as having a good chance in the arena." I turned to Cosmo pleading with my eyes._ See? You stand just as good a chance with us too_, I wanted to say.

"You can stay with them then, but I'm staying with the Careers," Cosmo stated.

"Cosmo, I know you're scared but please…" I barely knew this boy, but I had the strong urge to keep him miles away from Damian. He was my partner after all, didn't that mean anything? Weren't we supposed to stick together?

"I'm sorry Aradhana," He didn't look at me, or anyone else. But stood up and stocked out of the room.

"He's using you!" I called after him but he had his head down and kept walking. Elisavet excused her herself as well and tried her best to run after him, even though she was in five inch heels and tripped about three times. I held my breath hoping she wouldn't twist an ankle.

The rest of dinner felt quite awkward to me. No one else bothered to talk and silently ate and then retired to bed shortly after.

The next few days passed and were definitely the most stressful days of my entire life, and I wasn't even in the arena yet. Meal times I dreaded, Cosmo never spoke unless it was to excuse himself and he never made eye contact with me. Lurex and Elisavet only showed up for breakfast but ate in a hurry then quickly ran off again, claiming it was to finish something "top secret." Lunch time was somewhat less stressful sense lunch was held in one room with all the Tributes. I sat with Neo and Ajax at a table in the far corner, sometimes Lystra Craft or Flutter would join us. Up close I noticed she had tiny butterflies framing her eyes and trailing down both arms.

Neo seemed to try extra hard to get a smile out of me, cracking jokes, or even telling stories from when we were younger. Ajax would join right in and I surprised myself by laughing at almost everything they said, it never lasted long though. Sometimes I couldn't help myself from looking over at the other tables.

I didn't like the idea of Cosmo hanging around Damian and his crowd, or what he referred to as the Careers. Which was made up of only a few other tributes that I barely knew. There was a boy who stood over six feet tall, with golden skin and short cropped honey colored hair, I think his name was Angelos but he was too intimidating to actually ask him if that was right. Then there were the twins, Aric and Arissa, who were both seventeen and also went to our school. I never talked with them much, maybe because they were Damian's friends. They both had red hair, green eyes, and fair skin, but the one thing that stuck out to me was the tattoos on their hands. Aric's left hand had the Chinese symbol for yin, while Arissa had yang. I barely recognized Aric, his hair normally was perfectly styled but today it fell in his face, like he didn't care to even bother with it. Arissa's long hair flowed past her shoulders with golden streaks running though it, and she had piercings running up and down each ear. Currently she was flirting with Damian, which wasn't a surprise sense she seemed to flirt with any guy within a five mile radius. But Damian flirted right back.

In between them sat a boy, probably around fifteen or sixteen, he looked totally miserable. I didn't know his name, but his skin was a light mint green, and his hair hung a little past his ears and was black with a bit of a blue shine in the light. Then finally there was girl with rosy cheeks, pixie cut brown hair, big blue eyes, tan skin, and she was trying to have a conversation with Cosmo, who was blushing slightly and trying to hid the fact that his hand were trembling. She was tiny and looked like the kinda of girl who liked butterflies and cuddling with kittens. I couldn't imagine why Damian had her in the Careers group. I couldn't even think why Damian wanted Cosmo, maybe he knew it annoyed me.

I tried directing my attention back to the conversation my table was having, currently Neo was complaining about his mentor, "….and I don't even think she likes me much, I mean what's not to like?"

"Well…" I started, Neo turned to glare at me before I could continue.

"You do come off us arrogant sometimes," Flutter admitted.

"That's just an act, you know, to throw them off the trail," He said like he was a genius or something.

"What trail?" I asked.

"The trail that leads to my darkest secrets, inner desires, and true feelings that are buried deep down," Neo said.

"What's buried deep down is a little girl begging to come out!" Ajax giggled to himself, which started the whole table in fits of laughter, except Neo, who just smirked at his brother and playfully punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Who's your mentor anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Johanna Mason, she hasn't given me much to work with, it always turns into arguing between us. But she did tell me ten different ways to kill someone with a stick and two rocks. My partner isn't much help either; I think she's just too scared to really do anything."

"Your mentor knows ten ways to kill someone with a stick and two rocks?" Flutter asked astonished. Neo just shrugged.

I spent the rest of the time taking mental notes on every station, trying to soak up any piece of survival information I might need. I listened carefully to everything Haymitch shared, sense he was now cooperating so I wouldn't threaten to take away the liquor again. I made sure to pass the advice along to my friends. I practiced throwing my knives as much as possible, not satisfied until I got a direct bulls eye, even then I still didn't quit. Neo finally caught on that I wasn't in the mood for jokes at that time and held his tongue, except at lunch, and even helped correct me if I did something wrong. Like at the rope station I felt like strangling someone just because I couldn't tie a simple snare. Neo calmly sat down next to me, took my hands in his and guided them as I tried again, and finally was able to figure it out.

As the days went by and the hours passed my panic level seemed to sky rocket. Realization kicked in, I was going to be in the arena soon. I panicked and seemed to get mad at everything. I snapped at Ajax for fooling around with some knives, he stared at me with such hurt in his eyes. I had never yelled at him like that before, never said a hateful thing until then. I tried apologizing driving myself to tears. Neo tried reassuring me that Ajax understood that I was just tense and he wasn't mad at me just surprised. I couldn't help it though, I felt like a nervous wreck and most of the trainers didn't seem to appreciate that I'd snap at them every once in awhile, but not too surprised, others Tributes started to freak out as well. We were like fish out of water, just weren't prepared for something like this.

Neo was the only one who was patient with me, he'd comfort me, wouldn't talk back if I yelled at him (though sometimes I could tell he really wanted too) and held me while a silently sobbed. I had never cried in front of him before, he seemed a little shocked the first time I burst into tears. At first he just stood there staring at me weirdly then awkwardly rubbing my back. Ajax pushed him aside, hugged me and tried to make me laugh. He gave his older brother a look like; _this is how it's done_. But after what seemed like the hundredth time Neo seemed use to it and knew just what to do. I couldn't believe how stable he was through all this and how easily it seemed for him not to panic, but I know he was hiding what he felt, just like he always did when he was embarrassed to show it. I looked up at him, he had his arms around me but it was like I wasn't even there. He just stared absent minded at the far wall. I could see the horror in his eyes as he too realized just what we were in for. And I realized I had never seen him look like this before, he looked so…vulnerable.

Of course Damian took advantage of that, poking fun at him, insulting him, and mocking everything Neo did. It got to the point where Neo looked like he might explode and didn't even think twice as he ran over to Damian and punched him right in the nose. Guards had to separate them and sent them straight back to their rooms instead of finishing the rest of the training day. Luckily Neo hadn't broken Damian's nose but did hit him hard enough, he covered his face as blood dripped from it down his mouth and neck. I made sure to scold Neo the next time I saw him.

Then finally came the day when we had private sessions with the Gamemakers, who had sat on the sidelines watching us as we trained. Basically this was the time when we could display our talents and they would rate us based on how well they thought we did. We sat at the same table we usually did at lunch time. I was too nervous to eat anything. I was afraid I might puke in front of the Gamemakers and get a bad score. There was not much joking among us today, instead we talked about what we might do for the Gamemakers or discussed what advice our mentors had given us that day.

"The first few minutes after the gong rings, is a blood bath," Haymitch had told Cosmo and me that morning at breakfast, "If you're smart, you'll head for the trees while the others are too busy killing each other for the items at the Cornucopia."

Neo and I made sure to drill this fact into Ajax's head. He was not, under any circumstances, allowed to head for the Cornucopia. The second the gong rung and it was safe to step of the mental plate, he was to run for the woods (if there even were going to be a forest in the arena this year) find a big tree and hid in it until one of us got him. If there wasn't any trees or foliage in the arena then he was suppose to run as far away from the Cornucopia as was possible.

"I'm going to blow the Gamemakers minds with my wicked sword fighting skills! Just blow their minds," Ajax said smugly, a tone I noticed he got from his brother. Ajax seemed to be the only one who was actually eager for private sessions.

We sat waiting for our turn with the Gamemakers watching as each separate Tribute left for their private time in the gymnasium. The wait seemed to go on forever, which didn't seem to help the butterflies in my stomach. Sense there was 29 tributes this year. The floors 1-5 had three tributes instead of two like the rest of us. I didn't know why there was such an over flow of Tributes this year, maybe the rebels were hoping we'd kill each other off so then they wouldn't have too.

Neo had decided he'd spend his private session throwing spears and his favorite, the trident, at targets and dummies for the Gamemakers. Maybe even swing a sword or too. As he said this there was no smugness in his voice, no confidence in his mood as the normal Neo I knew believed he could do anything. He sounded hollow.

Flutter and even little Lystra Craft were sitting with us today. Flutter wasn't talking much but listened as Ajax bragged about how he had taught himself how to handle a sword. She didn't seem annoyed or bored by him, like I normally was when he started talking and would never stop, but I'd suffer through it just so I wouldn't upset him. But no, she listened and every once in awhile she'd ask a question. Lystra twirled a blonde lock of her curly hair between her fingers nervously. I asked her if she was okay but she just waved me off and went back to playing with her hair, until it was her turn to show the judges what she could do. She shoots me a worried look but I encourage her to go on and not to keep them waiting. She reluctantly nodded and hurried off.

My heart pounded as Tributes leave for their private time and don't return afterwards, we were instructed to head back to our rooms after the session was over. Before I know it Cosmo is called and he disappears through the doors and heads for the gym. I can't help but feel nervous for him, what if he chickens out and just stands there? What if he's too scared to do anything? I pray he doesn't choke up. I don't know why I care what happens when I barely know this boy and he's already betrayed me for Damian.

Minutes pass and then they call me. I stand up from my table. Neo gives my hand a comforting squeeze while Ajax smiles giving me two thumps up. I took a deep breath then headed for the gym. The second I walked in I saw the Gamemakers sitting on the stands that line the walls. Their all Rebels from what I can tell. I notice one opens a notebook to a clean page, ready to take notes on me. The others talk quietly amongst themselves.

I head straight for a rack of weapons and find a few small throwing knives and daggers. Then silently walked over to where a few targets are set up and began doing my thing. The first few tries weren't great. I didn't hit the center but two struck the outer red circle of the target and one a little closer to the middle but still too far from the center. My hands were quivering and my breathing had picked up.

_Calm down Hana, calm down_, I think to myself and I try to clear my head. _Have a goal in mind and when times are hard, remember that and it will keep you going, have faith and stay strong, _Lurex's words replay over and over in my mind. I think of Ajax and the knot in my stomach settles. I'm doing this for him, I can't let him down. And I can't risk getting a bad score either, if I want any chance at all in a Sponsor then I have to try.

I try throwing the blade again, sending it somersaulting threw the air and watching in amazement as it hit the bulls eye. I jump and squeal for joy but quickly stop when I hear some laughter from the stands as the judges are amused at the sight me waving my arms wildly and squealing like a little girl. I retrieve my knives, color flowing to my cheeks as I do.

I throw another knife at a different target this time, it's shaped like a human silhouette. It hit the center of the forehead, right between where the eyes would be, and then send another piercing the place where the heart would have been. I glance at the Judges who are either stuffing their faces or whispering to each other.

I look around and find a dummy, perfect. I don't want to bore the judges so I decided to spice things up a bit. I've only ever done this a few times back home."I bet you can't throw three darts at the same time!" Athanasia once said to me in that high pinched whining tone she did when she was annoyed by something. In this case it was me beating her at a simple game of darts. I smiled, reliving the memory in my head as I proved her wrong.

I selected three knives, each with a thin razor sharp blade. Then arranged them between the fingers of my left hand, like I was pretending they were claws growing from my knuckles. Then slowly raised my arm and sent them sailing across the room toward the dummy. They all hissed through the air as they hit the dummy making it wobble as it was struck. Two blades hit the chest, one hit embedded itself in its head.

I continued like this, trying to find more challenging things to hit like a small stain on the wall, a plate being thrown in the air, or a light fixture over head. i struggled and cursed under my breathe whenever i missed, moving target where harder to hit. I tried to find more ways to show off in front of the judges until I was later dismissed. I felt like I had done my best but wondered, was it good enough?

I wasn't able to meet up with Neo or Ajax to ask how it went with them and when I tried knocking on Cosmo's door there was no answer, so I gave up and went back to my room. I curled up on my bed and tried shutting my eyes in hopes of taking a nap. I heard a faint knocking at my door, it was Lurex coming to get me for dinner. I was pleased to find her and Elisavet had decided to stay for dinner this time.

They both eagerly asked Cosmo and me how the private sessions had gone. I told them about my knife throwing. They praised me but I wasn't in the mood to hear their encouragement.

"What about you Cosmo?" Elisavet asked.

I didn't think he'd answer but surprisingly he lifted his head and said, "I just tied a few knots and made a few traps to show them," He shrugged and went back to eating. She patted his back and praised him as well, but that was all the talking she was able to get out of him. He still refused to even acknowledge my presence.

We had finished dinner and decided to go into the sitting room where we'd watch the recaps of the games. I curled up into a plush chair. Lurex turned on the TV then came to sit at my feet. We waited for the scores to be announced but apparently we had finished dinner a little early because they were still showing interviews.

Clips of the Tributes families and friends flashed on screen. But none of them were my parents. I watched as more people appeared on screen, I sat waiting to hear my mother's soothing voice or see my father's smile. But I knew my eagerness was in vain. Marios Stone came on screen next, I wondered if Neo had seen this or if he even cared that his father was alright. His hair was matted and rumbled, like he had just gotten out of bed. Dark shadows hung under his sleepy dark green eyes and he looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks. Neo had told me bitterly one time that his father was a ruthless drunk. Mr. Stone rambled on and on about his children's upbringing, half the things I knew he must have made up sense he left his family right after Ajax was born. But what got me mad was when he said, "I'm proud of my boys!" when the interviewer asked how he felt about them being a part of the games. He should be horrified by the fact that they might not even make it out alive and be dead within a few days time.

His interview ended and was followed by a girl, something was familiar about her. She had blonde hair that hung past hair shoulders, pale skin and sad pale blue eyes, and her cheeks were dotted with like golden hearts, almost like freckles. Athanasia, I realized as my heart seemed to skip a few beats. I almost didn't recognize her without her rainbow hair and soft pink skin. The interviewer asked her questions and she gladly told them about growing up with me, Neo and Ajax. I barely heard her words though. She was alive! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! And how did they find her for the interview?

"Is something wrong?" Lurex looked up at me. I must have said something out loud without even realizing it.

"That's my friend!" Was all I was able to get out.

Her image faded away and I was sad to see her go, but at least I didn't have to worry about her anymore. Haymitch muttered, "Finally," As the scores were being announced in order of the district we had been assigned too. Pictures of the tributes came on and under them flashed their score, a number between one and twelve. Lystra Craft had scored a four, that giant that had joined Damian had scored a terrifying eleven (and yes, it now confirmed that his name was indeed Angelos) I wondered what he did to score that high. Aric and Arissa had both managed to get a seven. Cosmo's picture came on screen next with the number seven flashing under his name.

"Seven?" Cosmo said surprised.

"You deserve it, must have really wowed the judges!" Elisavet said.

"Must be a bunch of softies this year," Haymitch rudely blurted out. Elisavet shot him a glare like daggers piercing his heart. Haymitch just ignored her.

I started biting my nails as my photo popped up next and the eight flashing below it. Eight? Eight! I let out air I hadn't noticed I had been holding and smile proud, eight that was wonderful! Wasn't it?

"That's above average, more then what I expect from you guys," Haymitch smiles and I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or feel angry with him. "I'm impressed," He added.

Lurex is telling me something, probably about the upcoming interviews or congratulating me and my score, I simply nod but don't pay her much attention. Instead I keep my eyes glued to the screen to finish watching the rest of the Tribute scores be announced. Ajax scored a five, I can't help but feel bad after he had been so eager and had so much faith in himself. Flutter got a five, followed by that boy in the career pack with the green skin, whose name was Koios, had scored an eight as well. That tiny girl Cosmo seemed to admire, Angeliki, scored a ten. Again I couldn't help but wonder how she had done it. And finally Neo and Damian had both tied with the same score of ten. That seemed to be the end of the Tributes scores, the anthem played and the image of the Mockingjay flashed on screen. Haymitch stood and turned the TV off, "Tomorrow is interviews, I suggest you both get some sleep. You'll need it sense you'll be spending four hours with me tomorrow to help you two seem appealing to the crowd," He seemed to dread the idea as much as I did, "And also four hours with an instructor to help you on presentation," He said, then stocked out of the room.

"I have to go finish the arrangements for your dress!" Lurex cried and gave me a hug before quickly running off as well. Elisavet turned to follow her. Which left Cosmo and me alone.

"You did great!" I said trying to sound happy for him.

"Thanks" He still wasn't looking at me but headed for the door and shut it behind him. Tomorrow was going to be a _long _day.


End file.
